The Kimchi Cornhusker Connection
by 123justafan
Summary: Leonard leaves on the Hawking Expedition. Does he make it? What happens to Penny? How does the group react to the situation?
1. Chapter 1

Penny dropped Leonard off at the Airport leaving him excited about the project ahead but devastated that he needed to be away from Penny for four months. Working with Stephen Hawking is more than he could imagine. As excited as he is, there was still the apprehension he feels for leaving Penny. She has admitted she loves him, and he is sure he loves her. But he still felt he needed to give her that locket with his picture in it so she would not forget him. Was there a chance the forward progress they had been making in their relationship could start to reverse? Could there be enough of a distraction over the four months he would be away that could make Penny rethink her kinda, sorta commitment to him? Wait, commitment? She full out admitted she had commitment issues. Was he over thinking things again? "_God, I hope the locket works". _

After Penny leaves Raj's apartment, she goes back to her apartment building and goes into 4B flopping down on her couch thinking how she is going to miss Leonard, all the time holding onto the locket he gave her. Four Months, this is so much like the time they went to the North Pole. She loves him, she doesn't want him gone but knows that it's best for his career and their relationship that he goes and does his Science Stuff. Last time, she was apprehensive of their possible relationship, now she is insecure about it. Who knows who is on that team? Some beautiful, smart scientist? No, wait; is she the one overthinking the situation now? Leonard loves her, he said so, and he gave her this locket with his picture in it to remind her of his love, didn't he? "_Screw it! This is starting out way to lonely way to fast. I need to call the girls and lighten up the mood a bit"._

Leonard doesn't quite know what to expect, being the "new kid on the block" with the other team members. He expects them to be professional and hopes he can fit in and satisfy Dr. Hawking's expectations. He also wouldn't mind rubbing it in Sheldon's face a bit that he has this unbelievable opportunity. The team gathers and Leonard is surprised to see that the Theoretical Physicist member of the team is none other than Dennis Kim. Leonard hasn't seen him, since the walk in the park with Howard and Raj, noticing Dennis hanging out with that girl Emma. Apparently, Dennis got a thing or two together since then.

Bernadette and Amy enter Penny's apartment, wine in hand, all set for an evening of girl talk. Penny seems happier already. "Hey girls, whatchyerpleasure? Red, White or something stronger"?

"Hey Penny", Bernadette chirps in with a big smile. "How are you doing"?

Penny shrugs "Come on Bernie, Leonard just left, I'm not THAT dependent on him". Although she tries to hide it, there is a little catch in her voice with her last statement.

Amy then breaks in "Although we all have full, exciting lives that transcend and eclipse our relationships with our significant others, the time lapse between Leonard's departure to the time you requested this evening that will be filled with girly frivolity, clearly indicates that you have indeed become dependent on Leonard's presence for comfort".

Penny just stared at Amy…."Annnnyyy…Way… Ice cream, popcorn, movies, or just sittin around talkin"?

Howard and Sheldon were in 4A with Raj trying to convince the astrophysicist that now that he can talk to women without alcohol or drugs, he should stop moping around and finally "get into the game".

Sheldon, sitting in his spot, "Raj, clearly even without Leonard, we can still have an effective landing party in the new on-line Star Trek game. So buck up man and get with it".

"Yeah Raj, Howard says, there's no telling how many Uhuras you can hook up with now".

Leonard felt a little uncomfortable with Dennis on the team seeing as how he had a hand in foiling Dennis's appointment at Cal Tech. "Hi – um, Dennis Kim isn't it"? Leonard finally said when he noticed Dennis looking his way. "Haven't seen you in a while, too bad about the job at Cal Tech".

"Oh, Dr. Hofstadter, nice to see you again". Dennis said with a little smirk. "Yeah, well it all worked out in the end, except for Emma, I got an appointment at Cambridge instead. That's how I became affiliated with Dr. Hawking's team. Emma's Dad didn't approve and the move to England was pretty much a killer".

Leonard smiled back. "Please call me Leonard. Don't worry, you'll find someone someday. Believe me; no one is out of the picture or out of your league. Just be patient, persistent, attentive and supportive and anything is possible". Leonard thought back to leaving Penny at the airport thinking to himself, _Come on Locket! _ "This is going to be a great chance for some really cutting edge research isn't it? What's with all the security"?

Dennis looked around. "Well, being that I am doing the theoretical work and you are the Experimental Physicist, we'll be working pretty closely together. The security is more than any I've seen for research; they're really intense with all their stuff. Are you still working with that rather pompous arrogant Dr. Cooper"?

Leonard just nodded. "Living with, actually. However, if I play my cards right, not for long". Thinking to himself, _unless things have changed, there's a little of "the pot calling the kettle black" thing going on, _being that Dennis is really just a shorter, younger version of Sheldon. "Hey, do you know who the other Experimental Physicist was and what happened to him"?

Dennis thought for a minute. "Well, from what I heard, he was a Korean Hot Shot that just got ill at the last minute. I guess we should find everyone and get settled".

Unbeknownst to either of them, they were being watched by two nefarious looking men, Ming Tau and Yang Un, both agents of the North Korean Special Services. "It seems that they have placed an American to work with the Traitor. A Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, from Cal Tech. This is unfortunate. We will have to contact our superiors for direction on how to proceed".


	2. Chapter 2

Paste your document here...

**AN: My first Fic, so I'm just getting used to this**

**I own nothing**

Answering the desk phone, "Hello, this is General Sing". - - _Sir, we have had a development in our efforts to return the traitor Dennis Kim to our homeland. The research team has added an American Scientist to replace the recently disappeared agent scientist we had placed on the team. We no longer have close contact with Kim_ - -. "What"? Sing yells into the phone as he stands up, pounding the desk. "Are you watching Kim closely? Who is this scientist"? - - _His name is Dr. Leonard Hofstadter. He is a high energy laser experimental physicist from Cal Tech University. Yes sir, both myself, agent Ming Tau and agent Yang Un are closely monitoring their actions_ - -.

Penny and the girls had just finished off another bottle of wine. They had gone through three, total, along with a carton of ice cream. They were all a little tipsy which was really the point of the evening to begin with, when Bernadette asked "So Penny, how do you think it will go without having Leonard around for four months".

Penny took a minute to consider the possibilities. "I don't know….the biggest worry will be Sheldon. He's bad enough with a layer of Leonard between himself and the world. Leonard puts up with so much, I just may go bat crap crazy".

"Oh Bestie", Amy chimed in; "Sheldon will be fine. Surely his superior intellect will shine through".

Bernadette and Penny regained that confused look they often had when dealing with Amy. "Oh, REALLY"? Have you ever had to take care of him when he was sick? How about the time he tried to get us to take him around when Leonard dissolved the Friendship Agreement, or when he couldn't get around when Leonard had to work at night for that laser experiment thingy, or when I had to take him to your first date. Who's going to take him to get his hair cut, or to the dentist, or to the pottery barn, or to do whatever shopping he needs"? Penny was getting red in the face. "Who's gonna get him his food every night and take him back and forth to work every day"? "Leonard did ALL that! Without fail, and not much complaining. And did he ever get a thank you from Sheldon…NO! Leonard is a saint for putting up with all that, all these years and now, we are all going to find out just how advanced the self-proclaimed Homo-Novus really is".

"Penny", Amy responded, "Aren't you forgetting the declaration of Leonard's Day"?

Penny flinched, but Bernadette thought that things were getting a little strained. "Girls, please, the wine is getting to us a little bit, there's no need to get upset. Penny, that's really interesting, but it really didn't answer my question. I was more interested in how you were going to weather this particular storm. Let's face it; the S.S. Lenny hasn't been sailing in calm seas for a while. You weren't even sure where your relationship was going not so long ago".

Penny started to choke up a little. "I'm sorry, it's just that Leonard is such a great guy and no one tells him. And hey … that's not fair, and really not true. Things have been really great lately and we have been really happy. I told him I love him, he assured me there was nothing between him and Alex and there never would be…. He isn't pressuring me for any commitments and he gave me this really nice locket... He even told me he would let ME propose to HIM if I ever wanted to get married just to take pressure off our relationship".

Amy and Bernadette almost fell to the floor at that last statement. "WHAT?" They said in unison.

"Yeah... I really didn't think that through" … Penny said, "Don't worry, I'm not there yet. The point is, I DO miss him already and it's only the FIRST DAY! I'm not sure how I'm going to make it. I suppose I'll just take on some extra hours at the restaurant or take some extra classes to get my mind off him. But I don't WANT to be distracted too much. I love him and I can't wait for him to get back. Who knows, maybe some acting thing will come up. My class may be putting on more plays".

Bernadette said "That sounds like a plan. Don't worry so much about Sheldon, it's not like we're going to throw his Kindle in the Cheese Cake Factory Freezer and let him freeze to death".

"Yes", Amy said while raising her eye brows a few times, "Sheldon will get ALL the attention he needs".

Penny just stared at Amy while Bernadette just said "That's Nice".

Dr. Kim was sitting at a desk in an office when General Sing came in without knocking. "Joyce, our agent assigned to the traitor Eric Kim has disappeared. The Americans have replaced him with another experimental physicist from Cal Tech".

Joyce Kim turned in her chair to address the General. "Cal Tech? Who is this Experimental Physicist? Do we still have the traitor under surveillance?

General Sing sat in the chair opposite Joyce Kim's desk. "Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, and yes, both Un and Tau are watching them".

Joyce was visibly moved by the realization that Leonard was the replacement scientist. "This is incredibly fortunate for us that they have placed Dr. Hofstadter on the team. He is an accomplished high energy laser expert and he has considerable experience with advanced rocket fuels".

General Sing became more excited, "He can solve our problems with our long range missile project. We will no longer just be seen as unimportant saber rattlers. We will command the respect that we deserve. We must have both of them. We will be able to enhance our missile program with their assistance. Our plan for launching intercontinental neurotoxin and biologic weapons will become a reality. We will no longer be a puppet nation to the Chinese. We must contact the agents and have them make sure that these scientists are brought home right away".


	3. Chapter 3

Agent Angela Paige was at her desk looking over the report detailing the capture and abduction of the North Korean Scientist/Agent from Dr. Hawking's Science Team. Surely they have assured the safety of Dennis Kim. The attempt to steal any knowledge and work that would enhance the North Korean Missile program was averted. Agent Paige was assigned to the case because of her experience with this particular scientific community with regards to the clearance of Howard Wolowitz and the NASA program. The communication with Dr. Hawking, Dr. Gablehauser and Cal Tech President Siebert, placing Leonard Hofstadter on the team, should assure that an atmosphere of pure academia would now happen on the science expedition.

However, through the communications with the newly combined intelligence offices with the CIA, it was known that there was new activity with the missile program as seen with the recent threats to launch the new medium range missiles causing angst in the region. There were also renewed concerns over the alleged activity in the biologic weapons program. These activities were tightly kept secrets. Although all diplomatic avenues would be followed, the government needed a way to get inside information. Any information about the new leadership regime and their preferences, likes and dislikes needed to be explored. After all, if a has-been basketball player could get an audience with the new leaders, anything seemed a possibility. The interrogation of the Korean Scientist would need to be stepped up a bit.

Penny had been putting in double shifts at the Cheese Cake Factory for the past week. She worked the dinner shift and was walking over to set up for her bar shift when she got a text message from the director of her Acting Class troupe. Apparently their next project was to do a performance of The Mikado. When she finished reading the message, her eyes got big and she had on a really big smile. After she wiped down the bar and put out fresh cut lime, lemon and cherries along with a few bowls of popcorn and nuts, she settled in for the bar crowd. Being that this was the middle of the week, she wasn't expecting there to be much of a crowd considering, as she often put it, "you know… the Cheese Cake Factory was not really the Happening Place you might imagine it to be".

Amy and Bernadette came walking up and took two places at the end of the bar as usual.

"Hey Guys", Penny greeted them cheerfully, "Sorry for the snarky attitude the other night".

"That's OK" they said "It was fun just the same". "Long day"? Bernadette interjected.

"Yeah, it passes the time and the extra cash isn't bad either", Penny responded pouring her friends each a glass of wine. "Hey, guess what, my acting troupe is going to put on a performance of The Mikado".

"Oh, the romantic triangles, blundering officials and political intrigue of Japan that was really a thinly veiled picture of English society", added Amy.

"OKaaay… yeah… whatever", replied Penny. "The really cool thing about this is they want to do it during a trip to Japan and Korea"!

"That's great, Penny", Bernadette added, "When does this all happen and how are you going to pay for it"?

"A couple of weeks I guess, and these double shifts will just about cover it". Penny suddenly looked down. "I wish Leonard could be there, but I'm sure they will do a tape or something. Anyway, this is so exciting. I've never been outside the country before. The only chance I had was when Leonard was going to take me to Switzerland for Valentine's Day and I got the flu".

Howard, Raj and Sheldon are in the comic book store discussing the new expansion pack of Mystic Warlords of KA-A, Mystic Moon Monsters vs. the Space Time Rangers.

"No Sheldon, the liquid would just ball up and float, IKNOW THIS, I LIVED IT"! Howard was almost yelling.

Sheldon looked back with his best look of haughty derision. "Howard, they don't call it PROJECTILE for nothing".

Raj was standing off to the side commenting, "I just think the wicked moon monkeys are just so cute".

"Anyway", Howard says, "Has anyone heard from Leonard lately"?

Sheldon then states, "Yes, apparently he is working with Dennis Kim. They are still setting up the sensors to collect the data that will further the theories of MY friend Wheels Hawking. I don't know why Stephen insists on working with CLEARLY inferior minds".

"Well Sheldon, Dennis did point out that you were on the wrong path with string theory and now you have completely changed your direction". Howard pointed out.

Raj added, "Yes, and now you only have to worry about Barry Kripke".

Leonard and Dennis were in the rear of the ship getting ready to deploy the last set of the sensors. They were setting them up in grid array in order to maximize the data retrieved. It was getting late in the evening and the seas were starting to get rough. Darkness was descending on them and a slight mist had started to fall. Two figures were watching them carefully. Tau and Un had made sure their escape boat was the next in line of the deploy boats for the sensors. They had already radioed to their accomplices' in the Whaling vessel that was close by. These were to be the last sensors to be set in the grid tonight.

Leonard was glad this part of the project was coming to an end. He could handle the conditions on the Research Vessel pretty well, but he hated the small deploy boats. He always had to take medication before he got in one of the small boats. He noticed that rather than the standard single assistant in the deploy boat, there were two but, didn't question it. Dennis climbed into the boat and Leonard passed down the two sensors and climbed in also. Dennis asked one of the assistants why there were two of them as they pulled away from the Research vessel.

Tau answered, "The weather is getting rough, we don't want to misalign the sensors and we want to get back safely". Satisfied with the response, they went off to deploy the sensors.


	4. Chapter 4

**OWN NOTHING**

Bernadette's section chief came into her office. "Dr. Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, how are things going with that new bacterial strain study of food poisoning"?

"Well", Bernadette answered, "there is an interesting but pretty scary development. While we were trying to solve the issue by trying to develop antibacterial mechanisms to guard produce from becoming infected, we found that the bacteria not only causes intestinal problems, it also , if left to grow for a period of time, seems to produce some type of neurotoxin".

The chief looked surprised. "My god, does the CDC know about this? Do we know how it will affect the infected animals"?

Bernadette mulled over the results in front of her. "Not yet, the primary effect seems to be the Central Nervous System".

The chief started to look agitated. "We should probably get a Neurobiologist on the team. I read of a recently published local researcher doing this kind of brain chemistry with monkeys and some mad cow prions".

Bernadette smiled. "Yes, her name is Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler; she is a good friend of mine. She works with monkeys but our research uses mice because their brain chemistry is closer to humans. I can see if she would join us. I think that she is free, her last project with addiction has sort of ended".

The chief was calming down now. "Great, I will get the clearance and the paperwork started. Where do you think the strain of bacteria originated from"?

Bernadette looked back at the reports. "I'm not sure, but it seems to be similar to those samples we had from the orient not too long ago, Water chestnuts, Chinese cabbage and stuff like that. There has been a strain of invasive Water chestnuts overtaking the freshwater waterways recently probably brought over here by foreign shipping".

"Interesting", the Chief mulled over this information. "We should inform the local DEC offices of the suspected transmission vehicle and see if there is anything they can do to slow down the invasive species. I'll get right on that".

Bernadette thought for a minute, _I'm going to be working with Amy. Well, things could be worse; I could slip and fall into some flesh eating bacteria_.

Raj, Howard and Sheldon were in Howards' lab discussing his ideas about how a new mount on the next satellite would improve the work on dark matter in outer space.

Dr. Gabelhouser walked in and asked, how's it going boys?

Raj answered, great, the stabilizer will greatly decrease the interstellar noise we have seen.

Sheldon stood to the side with a condescending look on his face commenting, yes ... there's no telling HOW far you can advance science with a good sturdy shelf.

Howard was getting a little agitated. It's NOT a shelf, Sheldon ... It's an advanced... OK, it's a shelf.

Gabelhouser just shook his head. Well, keep up the good work.

"So", Raj said, "it's new comic book night. Who's up for Chinese"?

Agent Paige was again at her desk when a tall dark haired visitor entered. "Agent Paige? I'm Bobby Mendez from the CIA. I was told to give you an update on the Dennis Kim affair. We have been interrogating the Korean scientist and it seems we have a number of issues. First, they have been working on biologicals, which have an established deployment mechanism already in place and second, they are advancing their technology in laser guided targeting systems. We think they are attempting to place targeting systems on their missiles. If they get anywhere with their propulsion systems, we could be in DEEP KIMCHI".

"Please, call me Angela; we have a plan to get some eyes on the targets. It seems there is a good will trip planned with a local theater troupe that we are planning on using to get a team over there".

Bobby was curious as how the mission was to proceed. "Who's going to be on the team"?

Angela smiled, "well; the team needs to be small in order to blend in with the troupe. So, the agency is looking to keep it down to two. You and me".

Bobby then took a step back. This was just what he was hoping for. He was playing in the background for too long. Too many people thought he was riding on the coat tail of his father, one of the most decorated CIA operatives in the history of the agency. "You have got to be kidding me"!

Angela smiled. "Nope, why did you think they sent you in here? Welcome aboard. I am going to be in the cast due to my minor in dramatic arts and you will be along as the lead set designer. We will have an official briefing with the director in the morning".

The conditions were getting worse as the skies became darker. The seas picked up and the light mist turned into rain. Leonard was now seriously wondering why they insisted on setting those last two sensors tonight. It was all that Leonard could do to just breathe steady as his stomach started to turn. It was times like these when he could just hear Penny say "Oh, sweetie, it'll be OK, just let it go"... While rubbing his back. Boy, he wished he was with her now. He missed her more and more as the days went by. He wondered how things were going back home, how Sheldon was holding up. Who is he kidding? All his other friends would be having it much worse putting up with Sheldon and his quirks that only he had really known about. He knew they would be supportive, however, he also it would fall hardest on Penny just across the hall. He was brought back to the moment when Dennis indicated that they were in position, but the deploy boat kept going. In the distance, getting closer with every minute, was a large fishing vessel flying the flag of North Korea.

Dennis Kim became instantly ill at the sight of the vessel. He thought to himself, "my god, they're taking me back, I'm going home".

Leonard and Dennis watched as Tau and Un just kept going farther off course and then threw the sensors over board. Leonard stood to go forward when Tau turned with a gun pointed at them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Still own nothing... except for some nefarious agents here and there.**

The next morning, the research team leader was having his morning coffee when one of the other team members came in and informed him of a concern he had. Sir, we are not completely set up on the grid, we are missing two sensors that were supposed to be set up last night. We can't start the data collection without them.

The Team Leader replied," let's find Dennis and Leonard and find out what happened last night. They were supposed to deploy the last two sensors so we could get started with the experiment today".

"Yes sir, we tried that already, they are nowhere to be found. Not only that, one of the deploy boats is missing and two of the assistants also".

"Oh my god, the Team Leader stood up, are you sure? The weather was bad last evening, did they take out the boat? Call base, let's see if we can get help from the Coast Guard or the Navy or let's try our Main Land contacts. Call Professor Hawking and inform him. Perhaps he can pull some strings and get us some help. Find out what coordinates the last sensors were to be deployed. And for god's sake, start a grid search at once! We have to find them".

The team member responded, "yes sir we have identified which grid coordinates that were last to be placed. We are on our way there now. It would have been up to the assistants on the boat to coordinate the deployment time with the ship's captain. It appears that they never contacted the bridge".

Agent Paige met up with agent Mendez in the hall way. "Walk with me, there has been a disturbing development in the Dennis Kim matter. Dennis and Dr. Hofstadter are missing. They apparently were deploying some equipment and are now NOT on board the research vessel. A deploy boat is missing, and two assistants. Something is up, this smells funny and the Director is going to be furious. We have to keep this information quiet".

The Director was at his desk with his head in his hands. "I just got off the phone with Dr. Hawking. Is this true? We have managed to lose two scientists in the middle of the North Sea? One that is supposed to be under our protection for asylum and the other placed there specifically as a buffer because we found a hostile plant trying get information in order to enhance the offensive capabilities of North Korea"?

Agent Paige responded. "Yes sir, we believe that they may have been abducted and are on their way back to directly work with the missile project. But that's not the worst of it".

"Oh, please make my day". The Director was just short of seething.

"Well", agent Mendez interjected. "It seems that Dr. Hofstadter is not only a high energy laser expert; he has considerable expertise with advanced rocket fuels".

"What? Are you saying, that in order to protect Dennis Kim from possibly giving away some information on trajectory calculations, we have in essence handed over to them, on a golden platter, a scientist that would complete their efforts to not only launch a long range missile, but be able to laser target upon reentry"? The Director looked like he was about to explode. "Get out of here, get over there, find them, and get them back. We're going to need more covert surveillance. Call the Department of Defense. See what they have in the way of micro drone surveillance technology. I have to inform the NSA. This is a disaster. This information needs to be kept quiet".

Dr. Gabelhouser once again found himself in the presence of three of his most "gifted" employees. It had already been a very long day. There had been a phone call from the Department of Defense regarding some covert surveillance system they had been working on with the Cal Tech engineering department. Then there was also a rather disturbing conference call from Dr. Hawking's research team and the FBI regarding Leonard Hofstadter and Dennis Kim. He hadn't thought about Dennis Kim since Dennis denied the offer to come and do research for Cal Tech, opting instead to hang out in the park. "Gentlemen, we need to talk. President Siebert will be here in a few minutes".

Raj, Sheldon and Howard instantly became concerned. They were told after their last encounter with Human Resources that they would be closely watched. Raj and Sheldon assumed this had nothing to do with the vacant tenure position because Howard was called in also. Raj and Howard looked over at Sheldon and in unison, said, "Oh my god, what did you do"?

President Siebert came in and sat down next to Dr. Gabelhouser. "We have some bad news and a request. First, we have been requested by the Department of Defense to explore a micro drone surveillance system that could be routed through one of their spy satellites, hiding the source of operations if detected or taken. Mr. Wolowitz, I believe that you had a hand in designing some micro drones in the past although your choice of testing over the roof tops of Pasadena can be called into question".

"Yes sir I have", Howard said a little flushed. "I was working with a buddy of mine at the DOD, but to maximize the flight distance of the micro drone , we would need to be relatively close by due to the size and weight of the battery power source".

"That shouldn't be an issue", Dr. Gabelhouser stated. "We are prepared to ship you three where ever it is necessary. God knows the rest of the department will be dancing in the aisles when you go".

Raj spoke up, "well, Sheldon and I have been working on the routing through a satellite for dark matter research. This is just a modification of that technology".

"Wait a minute", Sheldon protested. "How is this going to advance ANY of my work with string theory or Dark Matter"?

Dr. Gabelhouser simply stated; "it will be a DARK day if you refuse and we will pull any STRINGS we have to advance your research with the military super computer when you get back. This is being requested by the highest levels of the NSA. This is a go gentlemen... Get ready, you will leave within the week".

Sheldon smiled, "well, alright then… where are we going"?

President Siebert responded, "The Korean peninsula. This is top secret so, mums the word. Now for the second point, Dr. Hofstadter has come up missing on the research vessel and as of now is considered lost at sea".


	6. Chapter 6

Penny had been given her part and was told that she would be rooming with a new girl that had been added to the cast at the last minute. The production was part of a good will tour as part of a cultural exchange program between the city of Pasadena and their "sister city" Goyang in South Korea. She was extremely excited as the costs of the trip were being paid by the Pasadena city Chamber of Commerce. This kind of experience would look great in her portfolio, which was a bit thin. This was the first casting meeting and there was quite a buzz all around the cast.

A slim brunette sat down next to Penny. "Hi, I'm Angie; I'm new to the troupe".

Penny immediately perked up. "Oh, great! I'm Penny; I think we're rooming together. This is SO exciting. I've been trying to get a break in Hollywood for like six years now. To get more experience, I started taking parts in local plays and it's looking good".

Angie replied; "great to meet you. I can't believe I got into the cast at all. I know I have a minor in dramatic theater, but still, this is such a great chance".

Penny thought, "_oh great, another chance to be upstaged by someone with more brains"_. Then, she thought Leonard would be so mad at her for putting herself down. He was always so supportive of her dreams. God, she missed him. He was supposed to call tonight. She couldn't wait. The calling schedule on the boat was tight and he didn't get that many chances at getting a call in to home. "So, Angie, are you new in Pasadena"?

"Well", Angie said, "I'm originally from back east, but my boyfriend Bobby is the set designer and, I hate to admit it, got me this job".

Penny was amazed. Maybe she wouldn't be so upstaged. After all, she had EARNED her way on the cast. "That's nice…. So you can be working with your boyfriend on the trip. I wish I was so lucky. My boyfriend is working on a big project for the next four months and I won't even see him at all".

"That's too bad". Angie said back, "Maybe he could get some time off; a little exotic time in the Far East would be fun".

"Not a chance". Penny chuckled. "He's a scientist on a four month experiment in the North Sea working with that wheel chair dude that invented time or something, Hawking or someone. He's the best. His name is Leonard, kind of geeky, but so sexy. He's supposed to call tonight. I miss him so much".

Bernadette knocked on the open door to Amy's lab. "Hey Amy, are you busy"?

Amy looked up from dissecting a brain. "Just getting out this glioblastoma. There it is. What can I do for you Bernadette? You are a little out of your element in these halls of academia are you not? Your particular employment is founded solidly in monetary gain and profit".

Bernadette sighed, thinking; _I really didn't think this through_. "Amy, I have a proposition for you. I am studying a particular strain of bacteria for food poisoning and have come up with a troubling result. There is another aspect of this particular bacterial strain that presents itself in addition to any intestinal problems. It seems that there has been a mutation that is associated with a strong neurotoxin production".

Amy was instantly intrigued. "Obviously, you have been working this up because of the classic symptoms of food poisoning, if the primary aspect of the little bug is neurotoxic, how did the presentation of food poisoning get noticed in the first place"?

Bernadette was full into scientist mode. "Well, as it turns out, with successive generations, the neurotoxin decreases and so the classic symptoms present themselves. Unfortunately, as many times as we have tried, we cannot duplicate the conditions for infection. The origin seems to be oriental in nature and something about that local environment seems to be the trigger. Are you interested in joining our team? We could use a neurobiologist, we haven't mapped out where the neurotoxin attacks exactly.".

"Well", Amy then responded, "it seems we need to go to where the suspected source is and inspect the local epidemiologic conditions. I'm in, where are we going and when"?

Bernadette then quickly stated; "we are scheduled to leave for Incheon South Korea within the week".

Raj, Howard and Sheldon were completely surprised by President Siebert's statement. "What … When … How"? They all said at once.

President Siebert, said, "we really don't have a lot of information. Apparently, he was deploying some sensors and the weather picked up and they went missing. There is a search being performed but as of now, there is no word and they are presumed lost. The search is still classified as search and rescue so all we can do, is hold out the smallest hope".

Sheldon started to twitch and spoke up, now … "hollllld on a minute... This is totally unacceptable. Don't you know how valuable Leonard is? This whole four month expedition has been nothing but a travesty from the very beginning. There has been almost no proper coordination of tasks what so ever... I have to take the bus to work; I have had to buy additional bus pants because there's no telling WHAT that sticky substance was… I've had to reschedule untold numbers of appointments from dentists, to haircuts… Absolutely NO ONE has had the decency or forethought to even CONSIDER how this was going to affect ME! Now you are telling me that this may be a permanent condition? You get on the phone to RIGHT NOW to whoever it is that is coordinating this search and tell them to TRIPLE their efforts. It has been QUITE some time since I've had to deal with a new roommate and I don't need to start training one NOW"!

President Siebert was staring at Sheldon and quickly changed his attention to Raj and Howard. "Now, back to business. The Department of Defense wants the shortest possible turnaround time on the micro drone project so the three of you are scheduled to fly to Seoul South Korea within the week".

Howard then turned to Raj and said, "Who gets to tell Penny"?


	7. Chapter 7

Penny was in 4A with all the guys. Sheldon was in his spot, Amy was next to Sheldon, and Bernadette was on the other end of the couch with Howard on a chair next to her. Penny was in Leonard's chair with her legs crossed. They were all waiting for Raj to show up with tonight's Chinese takeout order. He was going on a half hour late and everyone was getting quite hungry. When Raj came in smiling everyone was a little confused.

Raj said his experience at the Chinese Restaurant was Magical. He almost got a parking ticket for double parking. When he got to his car, he struck up a conversation with the female traffic cop. He not only talked his way out of the ticket, he got a date for lunch.

Penny was telling everyone about the cast meeting and how she was going to be going over to South Korea and about meeting Angie. She was so perky and excited; she was bouncing a little in the chair.

Bernadette looked at Amy hoping she understood they should not say anything about going to Incheon because her boss didn't want anyone known about the bacteria. "That's great Penny, I'll bet you do a great job".

The guys also said nothing about their trip because the DOD indicated this was a Top Secret Mission.

They were all talking about their days and Sheldon's Non-Tangerine chicken when Penny took her phone out of her pocket and put it on the arm of the chair.

Amy questioned, "what's up with the phone Bestie"?

Penny got the biggest smile on her face. "Leonard's supposed to call; I thought it would be a big surprise for him if we were all here together".

Howard said shakily, "That's a… really great idea"….

The time for the call came and went. The conversation was getting a little tense. Penny was saying that it was probably because he was busy while she blinked away a few nervous tears she hoped no one noticed. After about a half an hour, Sheldon started to twitch like he knew something but was not supposed to say anything.

Amy noticed and asked, "Sheldon, what's the matter"?

Raj then got up and ran down the hall to the bathroom whimpering. Bernadette commented, "Raj, what are you upset about"?

All three girls then turned to Howard … Bernadette then said in a voice that sounded eerily like Mrs. Wolowitz … "Spill it little man, what's going on "!

Howard gulped and then quickly said… "Leonardismissingandmaybelostatsea".

Leonard and Dennis were on board the Whaling vessel steaming to North Korea, both nervous not knowing what these people wanted. Dennis turned to Leonard and said sorrowfully, "I'm so sorry for causing this for you. You shouldn't have to suffer just because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time".

Leonard tried to be reassuring, "don't worry Dennis, I'm sure when they find us missing, they will search for us. It'll be OK". In reality, he was really worried. These people were clearly taking them back to North Korea. No signs of them would be found. If they were recognized when they got to the mainland, how would their presence be explained? They were lost in the North Sea, not the South China Sea. There was a real chance they would not get out of this.

Leonard's thoughts immediately turned to Penny. What would she be thinking, How would she find out? She had been so supportive. She told him to go and do his sciency stuff because it was important to him. Would she blame herself? He could barely hold it together because he would be the source of her pain and anguish. He wished it could be him to hold her and comfort her, but knew that would be impossible. He knew that his friends would be there for her. Oh, those wonderful friends of his. How he would miss them all.

The three girls sat there with their hands over their mouths. Penny's eyes quickly filled with tears.

Sheldon quietly spoke, "Leonard was deploying sensors when the weather got bad and was lost. They didn't realize he was missing until the next day".

Penny started to openly sob. She got up and ran to Leonard's room and slammed the door shut.

Amy asked, "Are they looking for him, and was he alone, what are his chances in the ocean"?

Howard tried his best to be positive. "They are in a search and rescue mode, so they haven't lost hope. He was with that kid genius Dennis Kim we told you about. The North Sea is a pretty rough place, but like I said, search and rescue, not search and recovery"…

Bernadette got up and went to Leonard's room and opened the door slowly, she found Penny curled up in the middle of the bed full out crying into Leonard's pillows. Penny could still smell Leonard. All she could think of was the last time they spent the night together. She felt warm in his arms, she felt safe in his arms, and a comfort she never had with any other man. She wanted those arms to hold her now; she NEEDED those arms to hold her now. She may never have those arms hold her again.

Bernadette sat on the side of the bed and rubbed her back. "Penny, honey, we don't know anything yet. It'll be OK".

Penny looked up, "How can you say that? He could be gone. He doesn't handle sea sickness well. He would have called if he was OK. Everything was going so well, we were so happy. He loved me… no!… LOVES me… Bernadette… I couldn't tell him that I loved him too for all that time… but I did… I really did. I did tell him finally though… Oh GOD… I hurt him so much… We could have had so much more time together. I was so stupid".

Penny was quiet for a minute just crying as Bernadette held her. "Oh my god… Bernadette… I told him to go… He would have stayed if I asked him to… I told him to go… I did… I was the one that sent him away… it's my fault he isn't here… Bernie… I killed Leonard…. Penny then completely lost it.

"Oh… Honey"… Bernadette pleaded, holding Penny in a hug and gently rocking her… "Of course you didn't".


	8. Chapter 8

**Still own nothing**

Leonard woke up to the ever present drone of the engines. They had put Dennis and him in a room in the lower part of the boat next to the crew quarters. Leonard figured that they wanted Dennis back but could not really understand why. Sure he was a genius. Sure he was a wonder child. But was that all? Could it be only that they wanted Dennis back so they could brag that they had one of the smartest Physicists working on the problems of the cosmos? Was this all for international bravado?

Was his part in this all happenstance? Why did they need them both? Was he just collateral damage? All these questions weighed heavily on him. Leonard was determined to find out. If he was just extra baggage, then surely he could convince them to let him go so he could go back to the loving arms of Penny.

It took all the efforts of Amy and Bernadette to calm Penny down. She was sleeping now, fitfully for sure. The soft angelic calm face that Leonard loved so much and often watched while she slept was replaced by a frown and almost what appeared to be tortured features.

The group was in the living room trying to understand the gravity of the situation. Sheldon was particularly upset. He had the daunting task of dealing with Leonard's disappearance and now he had the immediate task of having to deal with a distraught Penny, who… the group thought… would be better served by staying the night in Leonard's room. Raj, Howard, Amy and Bernadette discussed the best plan of action. Howard and Bernadette would swing by early the next morning to pick Sheldon up for work and have Bernadette see how Penny was doing. Raj was going to go to the University and see if there was any new information.

Sheldon broke off from the group and was making a cup of tea. Amy noticed and approached the tall Physicist. "Sheldon are you OK? Maybe the tea is a good idea. It may help you relax".

"Goodness, Amy", Sheldon retorted. "You people need to get a grip. To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. We have just experienced the Action. All we have to do is figure how to react to it with the same force. As for the tea, this is for Penny. It is customary to offer a friend a hot beverage when they are distressed. And from what I have seen tonight, she is plenty distressed".

With that the four friends left Sheldon to ponder the reaction he was sure was to occur and to tend to his distressed new roommate. Sheldon quietly opened Leonard's door and placed the tea tenderly on the night stand. He stood by the door and gazed back at the form of Penny curled up in the bed and thought that this particular "piece of the action" had to be dealt with. He softly started to sing… "Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur… happy kitty sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr…

Angela Paige and Bobby Mendez met for dinner to discuss what the plans were for the upcoming trip. Bobby had contacted the Department of Defense to see if they had any covert operations near the demilitarized zone. He was told that a team was being assembled that would be working with micro drones and could be at their disposal when the time came. Angela was telling Bobby about the first cast meeting and that she found out that the actress that she was rooming with might be the girlfriend of the same Dr. Hofstadter that was planted on the expedition team. Things certainly had the possibility of becoming more complicated than they thought.

Penny woke up in the middle of the night and noticed the cup of tea. She picked it up and took a sip. It was cold but was welcomed just the same. She reasoned that the gesture was from Sheldon as some sort of non-optional action and smiled. Sometimes the smallest things could make the biggest impact.

Penny got up and wandered around Leonard's room taking inventory of his things strewn about. She looked at the comic books, she fondly touched his bat signal, she gazed at the sci-fi movie posters on the wall. She felt so connected to Leonard here. This was the center of his universe. This is where he existed in peace. This was his Ice Castle, His Bat Cave. She could feel him here still. The Force was strong with him here. He couldn't be gone. They needed to find him… for her… for them. She opened his closet and pulled out one of his hoodies, held it to her cheek and quietly started to cry once again. She thought, "this is all my fault". She found one of his jackets and could smell his cologne still on it. It was soothing and she put it on as if to be closer to him. She crawled back into bed and went to sleep trying to think of how she could continue on without him.

Leonard was deep in his musings about the current state of affairs when Dennis woke up. Leonard looked over and asked; "Dennis, can I ask you a question? Do you have any idea why they would go to these lengths to get you back"?

Dennis looked back at Leonard and said; "it could be any number of things. It was an extreme embarrassment to them when I got out. They had wanted me to work on the trajectory problems for their missile system before I got out".

That seemed to be good enough for Leonard for the time being. He was going to ask how far the program had been advanced when the door opened. Tau entered and stated, "I hope everyone is well and refreshed, you can get started soon".

Leonard thought that this was as good a time as any. "Obviously you don't need me; this has been a big mistake"…

General Sing stepped through the door and stopped him. "Oh, Dr. Hofstadter, how wrong you are. Although the abduction of this traitor Kim was initially the target, it seems that you are far more important to the State. It seems that not only will Kim be helpful in the flight patterns of our missiles, you will be instrumental in perfecting the laser guided systems and enhancing the fuel systems for long rang usage. Your reputation precedes you… May I introduce you to the head of our program, Dr. Joyce Kim"?

Leonard was prepared to do whatever was necessary to get back to Penny…. Anything…

Sheldon was sitting up in his bed with a composition notebook he used as a journal. Writing down the information of what had happened tonight and the reaction of his friends. Of particular worry was the reaction of Penny. Understandably, this would be the hardest on Penny. He had watched their relationship evolve and twist over the years. Action to reaction. The two variables connected and intertwined in an ever expanding dance.

Their first meeting, the quest for the television…

Penny's other relationships starting, Leonard's inevitable depression…

Leonard asking Penny out, Penny's insecurity about her intelligence…

More relationships, more depression…

The North Pole, the annoying eight month ill-fated dalliance…

Leonard's I Love you, the breakup…

PRIYA…

The new relationship, the Coitus proposal.

It was at this point Sheldon noticed a variance in the pattern. There was no destructive reaction. There were what appeared to be minor disturbances in the force, but the actions were smaller and the reactions seemed to strengthen their bond. This was curious. It was like the tightening of a spring, the forces building in an earthquake zone underground, eventually there would be a violent ACTION. They had certainly seen a cosmic change in their group dynamic with Leonard's disappearance. He needed to try to anticipate the cosmic REACTION and try to somehow affect the outcome in a positive way.

Leonard found himself in the deploy boat. He was laying on his back as the rain pelted down. He tried to open his eyes, but the rain was too strong. His glasses were gone from his face, lost somewhere in the boat. Leonard called out to anyone that would be there. There was no answer. He was alone. The boat was floating.

Leonard scrambled to the edge of the boat, trying to make out something, anything that would help. He could see nothing, but he could feel the boat rising on one side as if it was turning on end. Leonard started to breath quickly, this was not good. The boat kept rising. Leonard laid back and tried to grab the bottom of the boat. He could find nothing to hold onto. The boat turned and capsized. Leonard was thrown into the sea, the cold North Sea.

He floated as best he could, trying to remember what they told him about during the safety training… thinking of one thing... one person really... Penny... His Penny... He was just floating in the dark churning sea... No one to hear his calls for help... No one to help... No one...

Penny sat bolt upright... Brought out of her fitful sleep by a terrifying omenous feeling.

Sweating, gasping for a breath that would not come. Tears falling down her face. She looked around at first not realizing where she was, then remembering... Leonard's room... Wearing Leonard's jacket. She breathed quickly, her chest heaving with each caught breath.

She wrapped herself tightly in the jacket laying back down, pushing the terrible thoughts out of her mind. She thought of how she would feel when Leonard got back from the expedition. How excited she would be. How she would run to him, jump on him, throw her arms around his neck, hug him, and kiss him. She would never let him go again.

Exhausted, she returned to sleep. A fitful sleep. Hoping for Leonard to return… willing him to return.


	9. Chapter 9

**Still Dont Own Anything**

Penny had gotten up at the smell of the all mighty coffee bean, and wandered into the kitchen wearing Leonard's jacket to find Bernadette making a pot of coffee. "Morning, Bernadette, didn't expect to find you out here".

Bernadette looked at her and smiled hesitantly. "Morning, Penny, I've made some coffee".

Penny exhaled. "Oh great! ….. It's just what I needed before I get going to the rehearsal".

"When is it"? Bernadette asked.

Penny thought for a moment. "Eleven this morning. They are really going to press for us to know our parts. We are on short notice because we are going over in a few days. What are you doing here anyway"?

Bernadette was a little nervous. "Oh… Howard came over to get Sheldon for work and I thought I would stop over to see how you were doing. Did you sleep OK? You seemed a little… off… last night"….

Penny smiled back. "Off? REALLY? Huh…. I feel GREAT, what a comfortable sleep. After this coffee, I just wanted to pick up a few things and take them over to my place for Leonard".

Bernadette looked warily at Penny. "That's Nice".

Penny finished her coffee, went back into Leonard's room and came out wearing a hoodie and jacket carrying his Green Lantern costume and his Bat Signal. "All set, just need to drop these off at my place, take a shower and I'm good to go".

Bernadette looked on astonished. "OK, I'm gonna get off to work then, if you need anything just call".

Penny took the items over to her apartment and carefully placed the Bat Signal on her night stand next to the velvet pouch that held the snowflake Leonard gave her from the North Pole trip. She then hung the Green Lantern costume in her closet after gently brushing it with her hand. She then took off the hoodie and jacket, held them up to her nose and inhaled deeply, got in the shower a let the warm water soak over her as she started to shake and quietly cry.

* * *

Sheldon, Raj and Howard stopped by the department offices to pick up their travel authorization. They would be leaving on a military transport to conceal their arrival. Everything needed to look like business as usual at the base when they got there. They had told Amy and Bernadette that they were all going to a symposium at Cal Berkley in San Francisco on Dark Matter in Deep Space. All the gear was already at the air base and all the tech supplies were in Korea waiting for them.

Sheldon was quite vocal on the arrangements. "I hope these people have downloaded my schedule. We need to have the right food. I hope they are putting in their order for pizza from Grazziano's".

Howard looked over, "it'll be FINE Sheldon".

"Yeah", added Raj, "at least you will have the right mustard".

Sheldon was his usual condescending self. "You don't know that… We eat Chinese and Thai food on a regular basis, hence the need for the download. However, we are GOING to Korea. Although they may share a similar spice palate and general geographic location on the globe, one cannot assume that everything will be the same".

* * *

Leonard was surprised to see Joyce. He had heard she was a North Korean operative and defected back after their dalliance all those years ago. He hadn't been associated with rocket propulsion in years, changing his career path to high energy lasers. "Joyce, I don't know what you think, but I am not familiar with any of the new propulsion systems on any of our current systems".

Joyce smiled. "Oh, Leonard, it is so good to see you after all these years. Are you still considered the king of foreplay? Anyway, I think your knowledge will be fine; we have just the right level of antiquated systems for you to be comfortable with. We will have to discuss this further over dinner. Fortunately for you, we have some of the best cuisine in North Korea. We can get comfortable and relax, if you know what I mean". Joyce winked at him and raised her eyebrows.

Leonard was taken back a little, and starting to sweat a little. "OK, but Dennis needs to come, if we're going to talk, then we need to know what you're plans are for us".

Joyce steeled her look at him. "As you wish". She then stormed out and the door slammed shut.

Dennis and Leonard just looked at each other and wondered what was next for them. Leonard said; "Dennis, let's get this straight right now… If there's any chance to get away, I'm taking it. You can come if you want, but I'm out as soon as I see a chance".

Dennis nodded. "I'm right behind you. Same goes for me, if I get a chance, you come too".

* * *

Amy met Bernadette at the lab. They would be leaving on the corporate Jet in order to make the best time. This trip would not be too long, hopefully no longer than a week and it coincided with the guy's trip to Cal Berkley. They would not have to come up with an excuse for being away. Bernadette seemed preoccupied to Amy.

Amy asked, "OK partner, what's floating around in that strawberry scented blonde head of yours, what seems to be the problem"?

Bernadette looked over to Amy; "Penny was acting strangely this morning. She was wearing some of Leonard's cloths and acting like nothing happened last night. She even took some of his things to her apartment and said she was taking them FOR him".

Amy became intrigued. "After last night's hysterics, I would have thought things would have been rather strained this morning. It sounds like she has gone into a stage of denial. The first stage of grief is shock and denial, the second is pain and guilt. Penny has had both these stages in less than twenty four hours. This is quite odd, but everyone is different. Considering the depth of their relationship, she may be quite brittle".

Bernadette was surprised at this. "Amy, their relationship just started up again, less than a year ago, she wasn't sure where they were, or if they belonged together".

Amy pondered this. "Bernadette, from what you have told me about their history, and what we observed during the Priya episode, we can quite easily deduce that those two were in fact cast from the same mold. They are soul mates and have had a deep and lasting attraction for many years. Her mental status is very much in question. She should be watched. Unfortunately we will be indisposed".

Bernadette was listening and already forming a plan to monitor her friend. "Amy, I have something to do, the reports are on my desk, why don't you look them over".


	10. Chapter 10

**Nothing is mine**

Angela was off to the side of the theater where the rehearsals were going to start. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a petite blond approaching. Bernadette walked up and asked; "My name is Bernadette, I'm looking for Angie. Have you seen her"?

Angela was taken aback a little. "Why are you looking for Angie, is there something wrong"?

"No, I've heard that she is going to room with my friend Penny and I wanted to ask her something".

"Well, I'm Angie, how can I help you"?

"Oh, I'm sorry", Bernadette smiled. "I didn't mean to startle you. It's just that Penny has heard some disturbing news about her boyfriend and I'm a little worried about her right now. You guys are going away and I was wondering if you could kind of keep an eye on her if she starts to feel a little down. She's real excited about this tour and I just worry about her".

Angie was curious to find out if this boyfriend was indeed the Leonard they had placed on the research team and as to how much Penny might know. She was curious as to how she might have found out about the disappearance because the only discussions they had were with Dr. Hawking's team, so she asked, "what is the disturbing news"?

Bernadette wasn't sure how far she should step over the line as to Penny's privacy, so she tried to keep it vague. "Well, it seems that her boyfriend Leonard had a mishap at work and can't call her. She hasn't talked to him in a while and she seemed a little depressed. I was wondering if you could just be there for her and let me know if anything happens".

Angie smiled back, "well, Penny and I had a really nice conversation yesterday and she seems really nice. She did tell me about her scientist boyfriend. I think his name was Leonard. My boyfriend Bobby is the set director for the troupe and we were going to ask her to tag along with us if she didn't feel too much like a third wheel".

"That sounds great". Bernadette responded. "Thanks, here's my cell number. I'll set it up for international calls. I better go before she gets here and is suspicious".

"Nice to meet you Bernadette", Angie smiled back, giving Bernadette her contact information. "We'll keep an eye on her".

* * *

Raj, Howard and Sheldon were dressed in standard Army fatigues in order to better conceal their identities. They got on board the military transport with their "orders". Howard read them, "It seems we are to meet a Captain Chu when we get there. We are going to a remote base just south of the DMZ".

Raj was a little concerned. "Don't you think that is a little close? We are not exactly schooled in proper military tactics".

Sheldon scoffed. "Raj, if you people would have just paid more attention to my weekly paint ball strategy meetings, you would be as prepared as you needed to be".

Howard looked up not believing what he was hearing. "Yes, planning to ambush the enemy as they try to pee with the Hammer of the gods is what we need to know to make sure we don't get killed during a covert spy operation".

* * *

Angela and Bobby met for a cup of coffee during the first break in rehearsals. Angela brought up the possible leak in information. "I don't know how, but it seems that Penny is aware of the disappearance of Kim and Hofstadter. Apparently, she is his girlfriend and has been acting a little strange since she found out about his disappearance. I was approached by one of her friends and asked to keep an eye on her, so there is a larger pool of people that know of this little mishap than we thought or want".

Bobby took a sip of coffee. "We can get her off the cast and have her detained".

Angela shook her head. "No that might turn into a problem if she is that unstable. And, we need to find out who else knows and if they have told anybody else. I'm her roommate on this trip. We will just need to keep a close eye on her and see if we can determine where the leak is. Everything is fine so far. Today went well; she didn't seem to be acting any differently".

At that point, Penny walked up. "Angie there you are, this coffee is terrible. How do you think the session went? It seemed pretty good to me". Penny was still feeling a little down from the experience the night before. Everything seemed so real to her, but she put it off as a bad dream.

"Penny", Angie said, "this is Bobby. He's the set designer for the troupe".

"Oh"…Penny smiled, "is this the boyfriend you were telling me about"?

Bobby looked a little nervous, surprised to hear that classification. "Yeah, but we should keep that under our hats. The organizers don't want to promote any hanky-panky".

"Well, you can count on me", Penny responded, "Zip it, lock it, put it in your pocket".

Bobby then turned on the charm. "So Angie tells me you are off the market too".

"Yup", Penny smiled, "my boyfriend is a genius scientist, he can't come to any of the rehearsals though, he's really busy. I hope they do a tape or something of the play so I can show it to him. Well, gotta get ready for the next scene, good to meet you".

Bobby turned to Angela, "boyfriend"?

Angela looked back, "yeah; well I figured it would be easier to bond if we had something in common. Anyway, that was just a little bit weird. If she does know anything, she is either hiding it well or in some kind of denial. We better keep a close eye on her. We don't want anything to bring any focus to this mission. We certainly don't want her to break down and cause a scene or anything. We need to get over there and find out if Kim and Hofstadter are there and what they have planned for them".


	11. Chapter 11

**Just some of Leonard's thoughts**

**Still own nothing**

Leonard was at the very least, perplexed at the position he found himself in. It seems that he was the one they wanted. It was unclear if that was by design or just happenstance on their part. Sure, the General had said Dennis was the original target, but when did they realize what his experience was? Was it his previous work with rocket fuels, a project that Joyce knew about but didn't get to see any details of thanks to, in a large part, Sheldon? Or was it his more current work with high energy lasers. This was a more dangerous prospect as his work was being watched by the Defense Department to see if there were any applications he would develop they could use for missile defense systems or worse, offensive systems. He was particularly worried about any offensive applications as this went against every fiber of his being.

This may have stemmed from the way he had been treated while growing up. He was held to a high value system that, while it did not reward good effort, it was inherently filled with rules regulations and proper protocols. One needed to follow the right rules to achieve the desired results.

He would rather have these feelings against offensive capabilities arise from his innate goodness, his dislike of conflict. He always shied away from conflict, sometimes appearing to cave in, to give up, and submit to the will of others.

He did know that his membership on the research team was not originally planned. As far as he knew, he had been picked because of his endorsement by Howard to Stephen Hawking. He certainly had no intent to be on the team until asked. He was a little surprised because of his, how did Sheldon classify it, "workaday career", that he was offered the position. He practically jumped at the opportunity, although he would have turned it all down in a heartbeat if Penny had asked him to stay.

This was weighing heavily on his mind, because the chances of him getting out of this particular situation were smaller now than he originally thought and had hoped for. He found himself thinking back to all that he had left behind. Although not particularly successful in his work, a point that Sheldon had no trouble in bringing up at any minute, he was one of only a few nationally recognized experts in high energy lasers. By the nature if his job, taking the theories of others, such as theorists like Sheldon, designing protocols and experiments and not proving the theories was not a failure on his part, more than it was a misdirected hypothesis on the part of the theorist. Science had to be proven after all. This was something Sheldon had yet to come to grips with. It was true that he was brilliant; however, none of his published theories had been experimentally proven. Leonard had accepted his role in the scientific world as well as his role in the Sheldonian world.

His happiest involvements by far, were his interactions with their little band of friends. It had even grown over the years with the addition of Bernadette and Amy. But, by far, the shining beacon of his universe had been Penny. Penny had been special right from the first time he had laid eyes on her. Love at first sight had always been in the same category as fate, astrology and psychics as far as he was concerned. However, it was as if he was truly struck by Cupid's arrow as he climbed that last step onto the fourth floor and his eyes fell upon her in her blue top, shorts and Ugg boots unpacking boxes. It was basically the same outfit she was wearing when he got the nerve to ask her out again, years later. Still the same beautiful Penny, a true beacon of loveliness. He couldn't resist any longer.

Early in their first relationship, things were so tentative, almost nervous. Things grew and got more comfortable. Leonard was always ahead in their relationship development because he knew he could do no better and never really wanted to try. He had tried to fill the void left behind when they broke up but never could. They were the yin to the others yang, the Elastigirl to Mr. Incredible, Lois Lane to Superman.

To Leonard, Penny was simply the most beautiful woman on earth, her golden hair, her flawless skin, her crooked little smile, the way she would bite her lower lip, and her green beautiful eyes. OH, those eyes. He could gaze into those eyes forever. They were mesmerizing, piercing and so seductive. He was powerless against them. He was powerless, against the wiles of this woman. Penny was, for a lack of a better term, his Kryptonite. She just needed to ask and he would obey. This was simply an undying love for Penny. He never wanted to have her hurt; he wanted her to succeed in all her wishes, hopes or wants.

The new relationship had grown over the last year. Things were so different now, so right. She had admitted whole heartedly she was in love with him. He loved being with her. She was bright, fun loving, effervescent. She had matured, her interests broadened to include taking courses at college. She had realized she was scared, had admitted to insecurities and commitment issues. None of her faults mattered to him. They were part of what made her, both good and bad. There was an inner resolve, she had to come out on top. He loved holding her, cuddling with her. They seemed to fit perfectly. He loved listening to her soft snoring as she slept, the warmth of her, lying close to him, the smell of her shampoo and moisturizer, he loved watching her sleep. She had a sweet angelic look to her face with the slightest inkling of a smile.

He steeled himself with these thoughts as a foundation. He would find his way back to her, back to the life with her and his friends, where he belonged. He would do this or he would dye trying.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N And now for a few thoughts from Penny**

**Still own nothing**

Penny was lost in her thoughts on the flight to Korea. She tried to fill her thoughts with the play and her part in it. It wasn't a major role. She didn't care. It was an opportunity to fulfill one of her dreams. Her dreams... What had happened to her dreams, her wants and her desires.

Recently she had been having mixed feelings of what she wanted. There was a time in the last year when she didn't know where she was headed, what she really wanted, what to do or who to do it with. She had wanted to be a big star in Hollywood. That wasn't panning out. She had made the decision to try some local theater. Plays weren't movies or television, but they were acting. Her creative needs were being satisfied. She had always wanted to finish college so she signed up for some courses at the local community college. She needed help at first, but things were turning around and she was getting back into the class scene. She didn't know if she would go further than an Associate's degree but she might. Some people might think she was settling, she thought it was just her growing up, maturing, getting her priorities straight, getting her future in order.

Her future… where would her future go? She didn't know. What she had decided, was that she was in love with Leonard. She had let insecurities show that she had all along. She thought she wasn't good enough, she thought he would get bored with her. She was afraid that someone smarter and prettier would get him to take notice.

When they met, on that first day, she was oddly drawn to this smallish shy, what some people would call nerdy, geeky guy. What she saw, was a sweet caring person that wanted nothing more than to do anything for her. Sure there were other guys at first, and off and on over the years, but none of them really cared about her other than her being a pretty show toy and a quick roll in the sack.

Leonard was always there to pick up the pieces. At first he was painfully shy with no eye contact at all. But he was always there to listen, a shoulder to cry on and someone to hang out with. He asked her out, she broke it off because she thought she wasn't smart enough for him. She jumped on him when he got back from the North Pole and he eventually he told her he loved her. She got scared and broke it off. Then there was that terrible year when she thought she lost him to Pryia.

Then he asked her out again. They took things slow, things were good and getting better. And then he asked her to marry him, in the middle of sex no less. Again she was scared; she didn't know how to handle that. What was happening? Everything was spinning too fast. After really thinking this time, putting more effort into understanding what Leonard was passionate about, and giving things a chance to develop, she knew one thing. She loved him; she really always had, that was the reason she was so miserable when he was seeing Priya. It was why she never really tried to be in a relationship after the bowling alley, she was just afraid to admit it. She decided not to run this time.

She loved the way Leonard would hold her, the way he would listen and be interested in the events of her day no matter how small, the interest and support for her career and dreams. She loved how he made her feel safe in his arms. The way he would pull her close when they were together, the way they fit together. He would do anything for her; go to any lengths to make her happy. She loved to pass her fingers through his curls at the back of his head; she loved looking into those big brown eyes. OH, those eyes. They were so beautiful to her, they would look into her soul, they were warm and inviting. She was powerless against their gaze, when he gave her the puppy dog look, she melted every time. In fact, they were the reason she couldn't tell him about her hesitation in their relationship earlier this year. Those eyes were knowledgeable, they were supportive and reassuring.

The one thing that was more alluring to her than those magnificent eyes was his smile. His smile was so genuine so easy around her. He had your typical, smile for the camera smile or the, hi, how are you, glad to meet you smile. Then there was the smile that she saw when she was there, the one that he seemed to save for her. It was wider, brighter, but at the same time softer and more genuine.

This was going to be her chance to be happy with someone that truly cared for her. She had hurt him in the past. She had seen the disappointment when she would go on dates with other guys, the caring when those relationships failed. The devastation when she broke up with him. But he accepted her decisions and maintained a friendship no matter how painful just so he could have a little piece of her.

She knew she loved him and she finally admitted it to him. She was then as vulnerable as an infant child. Her heart was then his to do with as he saw fit. He could easily crush it as she had done to his so many times. But he didn't. He cherished it, treated it like it was the most precious gem in the universe. He loved her and she loved him. She knew their love would last forever and that scared her a little bit too, but she was coming accustomed to that realization and she loved that too.

And now it was all gone. She would do anything to change what had happened. She would do anything to turn back the clock to when he found out about this terrible trip. She would beg him to not go, to stay with her. She would gladly trade her life for his if only he would be safe.


	13. Chapter 13

**Still own nothing**

Bernadette and Amy landed at the Incheon Airport and were met by the local official of the Health department. They had a lab nearby so they could get started right away. The preliminary reports were forwarded and everyone agreed that this was a serious development, because of the biologic weapon danger it could pose.

Amy was a little less concerned because she had picked up that the neurotoxin production seemed to be very short lived giving way to the classic food poison symptoms. She had a theory that this was a result of a rapid mutation in the growth of the bacteria. She hadn't brought this to anyone's' attention as she was just formulating this theory as they flew. The lab was a high security bio safety level four lab very similar to the Centers for Disease Control back home.

* * *

Raj, Sheldon and Howard landed at their military air base and were quickly taken to the lab set up for their drone tests. All materials were carefully set out so they could do a quick inventory in case they needed anything different.

Sheldon remarked, "Oh No... they seem to have titanium as the basic building material".

"Yes, Sheldon", Howard interjected. "It is strong and will withstand the conditions we will need to complete the project".

Sheldon looked on in question. "Yes, but if you use carbon nanotubes they are both stronger and lighter. Therefore, we could construct an airframe that was both smaller and lighter".

Raj was now becoming interested, "then we could ensure that the drone would be more stealthy".

"Stealthier", interjected Sheldon.

"What"? Raj questioned .

"Stealthier", Sheldon clarified. "the proper word is stealthier. You said more stealthy, the correct word is stealthier"

Raj looked confused. "Are you sure? That doesn't sound right".

Howard stated, "yeah but the battery power base would need to be smaller decreasing the range from the base control and limiting the flight time. They have some really great new batteries over here with new technology, way better than anything in The States, but weight is weight. We need to get SMALL".

Sheldon remarked, "Well, you ARE an expert in that area"…

* * *

Angela and Bobby met as they disembarked from the plane. They had been in touch with the local attaché about the mission and had plans to meet in person after dinner. They had tried to confirm the connection between Leonard and Penny, but were told by the Hawking expedition team that the emergency contact information for Leonard was a Dr. Sheldon Cooper. An attempt was made with no success. The University would only say that Dr. Cooper was out of town and forwarded his voice mail number for them to contact. It was decided that Angela should stay close by Penny until they could determine if there was a connection and how to safeguard any information leaks.

After Penny's flight had landed, she was headed for the security clearances and customs area. As they were going through line, Penny had noticed that she was being watched by one of the security personnel. He had seemed quite taken by her and she smiled at him. He quickly looked away and went about his duties. As she approached his station, he inquired "What is the nature of your visit, miss? Forgive me for staring, you are very beautiful".

Penny blushed a little, pulling out her Passport Identification explaining, "thank you, I'm with the Performing Troupe. We are here to put on a production of the Mikado". The agent smiled and let them through, again making note of her name and beauty.

The troupe had their belongings taken by staff members and put on a bus filled with other cast members and a few security personnel that were going to the hotel they were booked into.

Just before getting on the bus, Penny bought a snack to eat and a tea from a street vendor. She was used to eating Chinese and Thai food back home, and was anxious to try some authentic local cuisine. They had been told to stay away from the street food as the preparation was sometimes in question and the water could be a nightmare. But Penny was hungry and she just thought, "what the heck, these people seem healthy enough, what could it hurt"?

Angie was sitting with Penny and explained to her that Bobby needed to travel with the other set hands in order to make sure things were properly taken care of. They were going to get settled and then meet with a group of the girls for a bite to eat. Angela noticed the locket around Penny's neck and commented on how pretty it was.

Penny blushed, "Leonard gave it to me, isn't it beautiful? He put his picture in it so I wouldn't forget him". A small tear started to fill her eye as she opened the locked and showed her Leonard's picture.

Immediately, Angela recognized Leonard as one of the scientists she interviewed a few years ago while doing security checks for NASA. She also knew there would be a good chance that this was the team member they had placed on Hawking's team and was immediately got a sick feeling. Angela wondered how much Penny really knew. "That was so nice of him."

Standing in the center aisle of the bus was the security agent that processed Penny, in reality he was Agent Un. He had been assigned to collect information on foreign citizens entering Korea and evaluating if they were potential spies. He was interested in the beautiful blonde and was intently watching her as she was talking to her friend. When he had seen her while going through the security clearance lines he thought that she was beautiful with her golden hair and green eyes. He had not seen these traits in any of the women he had been associated with. When she opened the locket, he recognized that the picture was of the scientist that was taken from the North Sea Mission. Somehow she was involved with this man. This was certainly something that needed to be communicated to his superiors.


	14. Chapter 14

Amy and Bernadette were getting down to work. Amy was mapping how the neurotoxin attacked the victim while Bernadette continued to grow new cultures of bacteria. This had been going on for days now. As was suspected, the bacteria's ability to produce neurotoxin ended rather quickly.

Amy was able to track the neurotoxin target. It was targeting the medulla and brain stem. "Bernadette, this is extremely distressing. If the neurotoxin was used as a weapon, the victims would lose all function of their involuntary muscles; breathing, heart and such".

"Oh my god Amy", Bernadette was clearly surprised. "If this was used as a weapon, it would mean that the deployment would need to be very quick. The bacteria do not maintain the ability to produce toxin very long. It would also mean that, because we initially found the bacteria without the neurotoxin at home, someone already attempted to use it".

Amy was now deep in thought. "Well, I guess the shipping route you were worried about is out. This would need to be much quicker, perhaps air craft or missile".

"Amy, the invasive flora would be the mechanism for propagation once it was initially delivered". Bernadette posed.

Amy continued, "That would mean this is a calculated scheme. Long thought out and planned for. Bernadette, we don't need to talk to the health department or the CDC, we need to talk to the White House".

* * *

Howard and Sheldon had miniaturized the drone, while Raj had worked on routing the commands through one of the spy satellites. "I'm ready to try the link, Howard. We have to see if the command string can be traced".

Howard looked over what Raj had done. "Good, we have it linked to the robotic arm". Sheldon commanded the arm to go up, go down, left and right. Raj monitored the control signal trying to pinpoint the origin of the commands through the tracking software at both the robotic arm and the command module.

Howard was intently working on the camera. There was not going to be any storage on the drone as the direct feed would be monitored real time. Even if the drone was captured, there would be no way of telling where the commands came from, what it was looking for and where the information was sent.

Captain Chu entered the lab. She was a young officer who had risen quickly through the ranks due to her knowledge in the electronic surveillance systems. The three scientists turned to acknowledge the captain as she addressed them.

Sheldon commented, "Howard, we seem to be ready to try out the drone as soon as you can mount the camera on the nice shelf we have here". Howard just glared at Sheldon and brought the camera over.

Captain Chu was interested in the software modifications Raj was working on and went over to see if there was anything she could do to help. Raj attempted to display the tracking path of the commands which showed nothing.

Howard was more concerned about the power batteries and the duration of the flight due to the small size of the drone. Captain Chu informed them that the flights could be relatively short in duration because the North had moved missile batteries close to their southern border in a display of force. These were similar missiles to the ones they were threatening to launch which could reach Guam and perhaps Hawaii. The plan was to set up the reconnaissance station in the economic zone in the Keasong Industrial Park. The industrial park was in North Korea. The flights could be closely monitored.

* * *

Leonard and Dennis had been shown to their lab where they would be working. All the supplies were there that General Sing had requested. Dennis was particularly apprehensive because he had escaped once and wanted to do so again. As he was a high flight risk, the security was stronger than it normally would have been.

Leonard wanted to know just how far he could trust Dennis, because he wanted out of this situation as quickly as possible and with a minimum of advancement to the offensive programs they were assigned to. Leonard felt a little like Tony Stark in Iron Man. Hostage, in a cave with his assistant who knew the locals. "Dennis, I don't mean to sound judgmental, but how crazy are these people to think we are going to help them"?

Dennis was hoping Leonard would be strong as well. "Leonard, General Sing is very old school. He will do anything to advance the State. His reputation is widely known. He is trying to make an impression on the new regime. There has been a clearing of the old guard and he doesn't want to be part of it. He will be expecting results. The primary focus will probably be the rocket fuel project. If they can do nothing else, they will want to launch one of their missiles at a longer distance than is widely expected. This will raise the attention of the State and in their eyes be more prominent in the region".

Leonard was disappointed in this prospect. It would have been easier to delay the laser guided aspects of their tasks as this would take getting more advanced equipment than they currently had on hand. "Well, we will have to do the best we can, do you have any idea how we can get out of here"?

Dennis was more hopeful with this question. "We are positioned well to the south with the missile batteries they have set up for a show of force. This means we have a shorter distance to get out. I also have some family still in the country that have hopefully been notified. There is a possibility they can help. Do you have any ideas on how we can delay the results until we can figure out how to get out"?

"Well", Leonard grinned, "Sheldon always did have questions on my ability to adjust the formulas with proper math. The calculations and mixing processes for the fuel are really pretty sensitive. Any little thing could set of the reaction too soon and blow up or too late and just fizzle".

* * *

Penny and the cast had rehearsed for the better part of a week. They were ready to give their first performance. There were going to be a few shows. One in Goyang, it was their sister city after all. Then there would be others in different cities in the area. Penny was starting to get excited about the play, however; recently, she had been a little queasy. She was sure there was something in the water or in the food.


	15. Chapter 15

**Own Nothing**

Amy and Bernadette continued to work with the cultures. Amy discovered a new piece if information. "Bernie, even after the mutations, and the apparent loss of toxin production, there is residual low level toxin activity".

Bernadette was stunned at this information. "The toxin may have cumulative affects over time? That's it; we need to talk to someone now. I'm calling home, NOW"!

* * *

Angela Bobby and Penny were finishing up after the last rehearsal. They were scheduled to have a performance in Incheon. As it turned out, there was a pair of biologists they were directed to talk to. Either Angela or Bobby needed to have the meeting while the other kept an eye on Penny. Apparently there was a possibility that there was some activity that could be considered biologic warfare in nature.

The three of them were getting ready to go for something to eat when Penny got a little nauseous. She sat down put her head between her legs and tried to breathe deep. She then started to lose her breath and her diaphragm started to spasm. She couldn't catch her breath, started to hyperventilate and started to fall off the chair. Angie caught her and eased her to the floor. She looked like she was losing consciousness. Bobby quickly looked around for a paper bag or something like it. Someone left their take out lunch bag lying around. He emptied the bag and quickly put it over Penny's mouth and nose. After a few breaths, Penny began to come around. Bobby and Angie were looking down at Penny concerned when she came around.

Penny looked up at them, "I'm so embarrassed... What happened"?

Angie put her hand on Penny's shoulder. "You passed out. Are you feeling better"?

Penny blushed, "I feel a bit whipped but a little better. It must be something in the water. I think I need to go to the room".

* * *

Agent Un was sitting in Joyce Kim's office waiting for General Sing to appear. The General and Joyce came in together. "General, there is a foreign agent that may be here to find Dr. Hofstadter".

"How do you know this" inquired the General?

"I was watching one of the members of a good will performing troupe and saw a picture of Dr. Hofstadter. It was in a very personal place. I believe there is some kind of connection between these two".

Joyce thought quickly. "The negotiations concerning the Economic zone are ongoing. Perhaps we can schedule a performance by this group as a show of good will and morale for the workers from the South. This will give us access to this new threat to our plan. We can deal with this individual on our soil".

General Sing shifted in his chair. "We will make it so.

* * *

Leonard and Dennis had been working on the calculations for the fuel mixtures for the last few days. They had managed to fizzle out a dozen tries and managed to blow up half a dozen. Their keepers were getting impatient.

Joyce came I'm. "Perhaps you need a little distraction and a break from your efforts. We have managed to bring a performing troupe from the U.S. performing the Mikado. They will be performing in the economic zone. We closely monitor the activity there so you should be safely under our control. Afterwards, Dr. Hofstadter, you and I can discuss the ill-fated efforts with the rocket fuel"…

* * *

Raj, Howard and Sheldon were ready to attempt their surveillance. Captain Chu had set them up as workers in the economic zone. When they were in place, they launched the drone from the roof of one of the buildings. They were as close to the missiles set up farther to the west near the coast for the military display to the world of the capabilities of North Koreas long range missile program. They were closely monitoring the battery reserve so they could get the drone back safely. If they did not complete a round trip mission, and the drone was discovered, the surveillance mission would be a failure.

The drone took off quickly and quietly. They had used a bladeless propulsion system to minimize the noise. They had also used stealth technology to minimize the signal of the drone if radar would be used in detecting any flying aircraft. They were satisfied that the drone would operate within specs. As they sent it off, they could clearly see the terrain and Sheldon had familiarized himself with the maps of the area. With his help in navigation, Howard could concentrate on flying the drone while Raj kept an eye on the tracking of the data stream both in and out of the drone looking for any attempt at hacking or detection. Raj was also looking after the power reserve so they could ensure that the drone could be safely returned.

As they moved along the countryside, Howard maintained an altitude that was low enough to ensure good visual recovery and high enough to make sure any casual observers probably would not notice the drone. The flight was after sunset in order to maintain secrecy in the darkness of night. The hope was that they could get enough information as to the advancements in the missiles without requiring day time fly overs.

Sheldon's eidetic memory was extremely helpful in navigation. He needed to adjust the map information and the landmarks to night vision. When they got to the Missile complex, they did some quick circles around the perimeter to determine the level of security and the manpower on site. They then went to the missiles and took some shots of the missiles themselves in order to capture any overt changes in the mechanics. Finally, they flew by the building structures to see if they could pick up on any of the activities that were being performed.

Raj was intently watching the reserve battery power and informed Howard they should return. As Howard adjusted the flight direction, Sheldon, Shuddered and almost yelled, "WAIT! GO BACK! THAT's LEONARD"!

Howard quickly looked at Sheldon and said "WHAT"?

Raj broke in, "Howard, GET GOING! you are dangerously close to the battery red zone to ensure we get back".

Sheldon was adamant. "GO BACK! WE NEED TO CONFIRM WHAT WE SAW".

Howard replied, "Sheldon we can't risk LOSING the drone at this point".

Raj then said, "Sheldon, we can look at the data feed. It should confirm what you thought you had seen. We need to get out of here, NOW"!

Howard got the drone on course to return making sure that it was the shortest flight path. Sheldon and Raj went over to the video feed computers to confirm what Sheldon had thought what he seen.


	16. Chapter 16

Amy and Bernadette were finished for the day. They decided to go see the play at the local theater. They were so excited. The play was the Mikado, and the performers were from Pasadena. They were so excited to see Penny. They hadn't told Penny they were going to be in Korea, so they thought this would be a huge surprise. They could just explain their trip as a perk from Bernadette's business. They had pretty good seats, so the view of the play was great.

The play was going fine. Amy asked Bernadette "Have you heard from your company about the new information we have on the bacteria"?

Bernadette answered, "Yes, we are to meet some people, Angela Paige and Robert Mendez. They are government agents and they are to be given all the information we have".

* * *

Raj and Sheldon were starting the video feed as Howard came over. They were going over the missile shots, then the buildings.

Sheldon almost jumped out of his skin. "THERE... FREEZE FRAME... FREEZE FRAME"!

"Look… there"... Raj looked pale, oh... my... god"...

Howard sat down, "it's Leonard. What is he doing here? He is supposed to be in the North Sea".

Sheldon said, "Much like China. You can't even dig your way here".

Raj was studying the screen, "hey… there is Dennis Kim, and a rather good looking girl".

"Hmmm", Sheldon looked on, "that appears to be Joyce Kim".

Howard was confused. "Who the hell is Joyce Kim, and why do you know her"?

"Well, she is one of Leonard's carnal dalliances from years ago. She seemed to be overly interested in his work with rocket fuel".

Raj perked up, "the rocket fuel he blew up the elevator with"?

Sheldon smiled, "the very same".

* * *

The play was a big hit. During the first intermission, Bobby contacted Bernadette and Amy. He had gotten their seat numbers from the reservation desk. They went out into the lobby to be a little more private. They had gotten a couple of waters and stood off to the side so no one could hear. Bobby listened to the information.

The second act was going to be starting and they were anxious to see Penny. Angela came by with Penny. "OH... My… GOD! What are you guy's doing here"? Penny was so excited to see her friends. "I really wanted to show off my stuff for someone, this is so great".

Penny and Angie were dressed as Geishas so they had pale makeup on and white robes with black wigs. You could hardly tell it was Penny at a quick glance. Angela and Bernadette exchanged glances indicating that they didn't want Penny to know they had already met.

Penny continued, "Guys this is my adorable roomie Angie, and her boyfriend Bobby".

Angela smiled, "So, Bobby, what are you doing out here shouldn't you be getting sets ready for act two"?

Bobby was caught by surprise and didn't want to blow their cover to Penny. The fewer people who knew they were Federal Agents, the better. "Well, I just came to get drink of water and noticed these two ladies seemed out of place, considering we are in Korea. As it turns out they are from Pasadena. Well you are right, I should be getting back".

"This is so cool" Penny said, "we need to get together after the show, don't go anywhere".

Bernadette, smiled, "we'll be here just come get us when you're ready".

* * *

Captain Chu was brought in and the video was reviewed. The guys wanted answers. Sheldon demanded to talk with someone of importance. "Clearly, we are getting nowhere with this petty functionary".

Captain Chu had just about enough. "Do you realize that the first Emperor of China had a palace full of eunuchs for servants? China is not that far away"….

Howard got between them. "There's no reason to neuter the nerd, we can work this out. All we want to know is why and how Leonard got here? Let me tell you, we are ecstatic that he is alive; we need to know what he is doing and how we can get him back".

Captain Chu could see this wasn't going to go away. "Well, we believe Dennis Kim was abducted to work on the missile guidance systems. We are not truly clear on how Dr. Hofstadter plays into this. He was with Dennis when the abduction occurred. The fact that he was not tossed overboard in order to make it look like there was truly an accident at sea makes us believe that he has information that they must need and Dr. Hofstadter is helping Dennis Kim".

Raj spoke up, "that woman they are with, was a scientist at Cal Tech and was Leonard's main squeeze when he was working with rocket fuels years ago. We heard she defected back to North Korea".

Sheldon broke in; "she was hardly his main squeeze… She only knew him for twelve hours".

Captain Chu looked like a light went off in je head. "That explains a lot. We have been tracking some seismic anomalies that appear to be explosions of some kind".

Sheldon looked on with his typical look of derision. "Yes… well… it seems that Leonard still hasn't gotten those calculations for mixing the fuel right, even after all this time".

* * *

Penny and Angie met Amy and Bernadette after the show. The two actresses were out of costume and Bernadette could see how pale Penny looked. She pulled Angie over to the side, "Angie, how is she doing? She looks pale".

Angie told her "Penny had a bit of a stomach bug and had been off a little. She also had a few problems with hyperventilating and shortness of breath". Bobby came over and asked Angie to dinner.

Penny said they should go, and that now that her friends were with her she would be fine. After Angie and Bobby left, the three girls went to Penny's room and started to have one of their typical Girl's Nights, Laughing and talking about what was happening.

Bernadette asked Penny, "How do you feel, because you look awful pale".

Penny answered; "well I have had this stomach bug for a few weeks since we got here. I think that I ate some bad fish or something. I also seem to have heart palpitations if I get too excited or do something strenuous and I hyperventilate and kind of spasm sometimes, I'm fine though".

Amy was a little concerned at this. Penny got up to go to the bathroom. Amy quickly grabbed Bernadette. "Those symptoms are what we have seen with the bacteria, Spasms of the involuntary muscles of the diaphragm and heart with gastro intestinal undertones. She may be exhibiting the cumulative effects of the toxin".

Bobby and Angie came back from dinner and joined the group of girls. Bernadette asked if it would be Ok if they traveled with the troupe to the next performance so they could spend more time with Penny. Bobby said "sure, that should be fine. We can get you some VIP passes".

The next show was going to be at the complex in the economic zone. They were going to perform for the South Korean employees as a morale booster. The tensions between the new North Korean Regime were getting worse and this was negotiated as a show of good will.


	17. Chapter 17

**I might own a few Koreans. Nothing more**

The show had arrived at the auditorium in one of the complex buildings. The tensions between the two Korean governments were not getting better any time soon, so this performance was truly appreciated by the workers. There had been restrictions put on the movement of personnel from the North to the South. This was truly a tense situation. As it turned out, the performance was not only for the workers. There were going to be some dignitaries present and they were going to be in the front row.

* * *

Howard, Raj and Sheldon were set for another flight. They had noticed that there was a larger than normal amount of activity in the complex tonight. They had heard that there was going to be a special performance of some kind. This was going to make the flight a little more difficult due to the possibility of increased security. They would like to have gone, but their presence in the complex was black ops so technically they weren't there.

The drone took off, but instead of going directly to the missile complex, Howard wanted to take it for a spin around the complex. As they were circling the auditorium, the drone passed directly over a group of people entering for the show. Sheldon sat straight up, "AMY? What is Amy doing here? And there's Bernadette".

Howard almost dropped the controls. "WHAT THE FRAK"? At this point he returned the drone to base so he could look at the video feed.

* * *

Leonard, Dennis, Joyce and General Sing came in flanked by Agents Tau and Un. They took their places front and center so they would have the best view of the show and their security would not be hindered by any other attendees. As always, whenever he and Dennis were out of the lab they were kept in, Leonard was sizing up any chance to make a break for it. He and Dennis had a standing agreement that if one of them tried to get away, the other would follow without question. Dennis had tried to calm Leonard down and tell him not to worry, that his family contacts would soon try to get him out. Leonard, however, had a growing desire to get free and be with Penny.

Amy and Bernadette were seated a few rows behind. Excellent seats, they could see the play better than when they actually paid a few days ago. They were happy to be with Penny. They thought that she was looking a little better as time went by. They tried to keep away from any local street food. Opting instead for food they could be reasonably assured were cooked to a temperature sufficient to kill any of the bacteria. They needed to eat at reputable establishments, but that was just fine with them and Penny.

The play was moving along just fine with the players on stage in costume and the intricate set design. Leonard had thought that the play was a reasonably good performance for a traveling troupe. It was a nice break from the mounting pressure that Dennis and he were being put under. He was surprised the performance was part of a cultural exchange program and the performers were mostly nonprofessionals and striving actors looking to bolster their portfolios. He was vaguely familiar with the premise of the play and tried to just sit back and enjoy the show.

* * *

Howard was confused at the sight of his wife being in Korea, they were supposed to be at home blissfully waiting for them to get back from their trip to San Francisco. The video feed from the drone was not directly at them so they weren't positive it was Bernadette and Amy. He needed to get ahold of Bernadette in order to find out what was going on. None of them had their cell phones; they were all taken away along with any positive identification. They could put in a phone call to Bernadette's lab through the secure line so he thought that would be worth a try. It was just after 8:00 PM so they would need to wait another four hours or so to get Bernadette at work. This was going to be a very long four hours.

Sheldon just went to a corner and looked concerned. He wasn't sure how these variables were adding to the equation, but he was not comfortable with the prospect of needing a bigger **reaction** with regards to the situation he mapped out to Amy when they first found out about Leonard missing at sea.

Howard had had enough, he launched the drone. He was determined to get a better look at what was happening. He kept circling the auditorium in the hopes he could get a better glimpse of his wife and her friend.

* * *

As the play moved along, it was at a point when both Angie and Penny were on stage. Penny was really having a good time. She was feeling better since Amy and Bernadette showed up. They seemed so proud of her. Angie was great, but there was really no substitute for your tried and true friends. At one point, Angie and Penny were in the center of the stage and she looked up into the audience.

Often times, it was hard to see anyone in particular in the audience and in this case because of the lighting and the fact you didn't really know where people would sit in an auditorium, it was hard to pick Amy and Bernadette out. So, she just decided to concentrate on the people in the front row.

As she looked up, her eyes fell on a person, downright average in height, considering they were in Korea, with dark wavy hair and glasses. "Oh… my… god… she thought, LEONARD"! It was at this point that her eyes got wide, her heart started to pound in her chest, she started to get short of breath, and the room started feeling like it was closing in on her. She was definitely going to faint. She held out her hand reaching for Angie. Then the curtain closed.


	18. Chapter 18

**Own nothing**

Leonard sat straight up in his chair. That Geisha, those eyes! Those green eyes, he knew that the performers were from the states and that they were mostly amateurs, but… those EYES. All he could think was Oh… my… god… PENNY!

At that point Sirens started to sound. The drone had been sighted. Howard did all he could do to get the drone out of the area. They were not far from the border and it only had to be a one way trip. Raj calculated the shortest flight plan, and gave it to Howard. Howard pushed motors to their fullest.

* * *

Captain Chu came in to the room. "What happened? They are on to us. We need to get you out of here".

Sheldon snapped out of his thoughts, and said, "Not until the drone is safely south. Without that, they will have a hard time proving any type of espionage. This complex is full of a mixture of both North and South personnel. In the confusion, we may be OK".

* * *

When the sirens went off, there was utter chaos in the auditorium. Things had turned into a full blown riot. Leonard stood up and yelled "PENNY"…

Amy and Bernadette stood up and saw Leonard. Bernadette grabbed Amy's hand and said, "come on, we're not going to get stuck here, follow Leonard. Now that we found him, we're not letting him go".

Angie grabbed Penny's hand and dragged her to the side of the stage. Bobby ran out from the wings to help Angie with Penny.

People stormed the exits. Tau and Un came to the side of General Sing to protect him and ushered him out of the auditorium. Joyce was knocked over by people racing to the exits. Leonard and Dennis were pushed along in the crowd closely followed by Amy and Bernadette.

Leonard jumped up on the stage, turned around to help Dennis and saw Amy and Bernadette. Leonard yelled to Amy. Leonard got Amy Bernadette and Dennis on stage and behind the curtain. They needed to find a way out.

Someone grabbed Leonard from behind and spun him around. Fearing it was Tau or Un, Leonard swung his fist as hard as he could at where he thought their face would be. He hit Bobby Mendez square in the shoulder. Bobby grabbed him, "Easy buddy, we gotta get you outta here".

Amy, Bernadette and Dennis were huddled together. Angie had Penny flung over her shoulder and handed her to Bobby. She looked at the band of friends and couldn't help but think, "What have I gotten myself into now"? "Follow us, we need to get to where the performers are being housed".

* * *

When the sirens went off, the complex was put in lock down. No one in, and no one out. Sheldon helped Howard navigate the drone safely south. When they were sure it was in the right hands, Captain Chu turned to them and said "OK, now we need to get you out of here. There is a performing troupe putting on a play in the next building. They are all Americans, you will not stick out. We will have to plan your exit with them".

* * *

When the group of friends got to the performers housing Bobby put Penny down on a bed. He then started to take stock of the situation. Seven people that needed to be across the border and as soon as possible. Two U.S. covert agents, two abducted scientists that had intimate knowledge of the current state of the missile program, two biologists that had important information about potential biologic weaponry, and an aspiring actress. GREAT!

At that point, the door opened. Angie was about to level the intruder when she recognized the first person through the door as Captain Chu of the ROC special services. Right behind her was a small thin man followed by an Indian man and finally a tall thin man. Angela could hardly believe her eyes. Right before her stood Howard Wolowitz, the engineer she declined NASA clearance to, Rajesh Koothrapali, the nervous scientist that threw up on her shoes, and Sheldon Cooper, the person that turned in Howard Wolowitz for crashing the Mars Rover. "What in Hell are you three doing here"?

Bernadette yelled "HOWIE", Amy ran over to Sheldon and hugged him, Raj said, "Leonard are you OK"? Bobby tried to get everyone to calm down. "People, People, People… Calm down, we don't need to bring any undue attention to ourselves. I'm sure they will be looking for our scientists relatively soon so we need to come up with a plan".

Leonard was sitting on the bed next to Penny holding her hand and brushing her golden hair out of her face hoping that she would open her eyes. Everything quieted down, and everyone was concentrating on Penny. Her eyes started to flutter open. The first thing she saw were Leonard's dark brown eyes peering down at her. Those eyes… those beautiful, beautiful, eyes… looking into her soul. She flung her arms around Leonard's neck and pulled him down to her. She kissed him like she would never kiss him again. Tears flowing out of her eyes. She held onto him and didn't want to let go.

When their lips parted, Leonard whispered into her ear, "Penny, honey, are you OK"?

Penny looked back at him and then hugged him even harder. "Leonard, I thought I lost you, I thought you were gone, I thought I would never see you, hold you, make love to you again. I thought I killed you, this is allmy fault. I'm so sorry". She was full out crying.

Leonard just held her. "Shhhh, Shhhh, it's OK, I'm OK, it's not your fault, nothing bad will happen I'm here now and I'm not leaving you, Ever again. There's nothing to be sorry about. Please stop crying".

Sheldon broke the silence. "Yes… Yes… You're sorry and you're not leaving. Apparently… EVER… now, how are we getting out of this god forsaken country and back home so I can get some decent food"?


	19. Chapter 19

**All Theirs**

Angela, Bobby and Captain Chu were discussing a plan to get everyone out of the country and into the South. Angela said, "well, they have the whole complex in locked down. Walking out is off the table".

Captain Chu, said, "All the people are American except Dennis and me. Could we use the performing troupe as cover"?

Bobby then had an idea. "Well, my dad is one of the most decorated CIA agents in the history of the agency. Let's take a page out of his book an ARGO them".

Captain Chu was confused. "What are you talking about"?

Angela had a big smile on her face. "It might work. You see, Mendez was the agent that went into Tehran Iran and basically walked six U. S. Embassy workers out of Iran back in 1979 when the revolutionists took over. First, they set up a fake film production company with a real producer and small staff. They then held press meetings, took out magazine ads. They made the whole thing look real. The captives were given identities as part of a movie crew that was scoping out possible movie sets for a bogus sci-fi movie and he walked them onto a Swiss Air flight out".

Captain Chu was now intrigued. "How will this work? We don't have the time to make all those kinds of preparations".

Angela was thinking out loud. "We don't have the prep time, but with this confusion, all we may need is paperwork for their jobs in the troupe".

Bobby started to explain. "Obviously, they can't keep the troupe here. That would be too much of a PR problem right when they are trying to look strong on the international stage. All we need to do is get identities for all these people and get them on the bus out of here. It's not that far we should be able to pull it off. We can work on the identities tonight and get out of here tomorrow. Dennis and you will be part of the transportation or hospitality group. We need to give cover stories for the others. We need to talk to the director. We need to move on this as soon as we can. We need to take advantage of the confusion. We can probably hide Hofstadter in with the stage grips. We can dirty them up as we are currently dismantling the sets. The rest will have to be spread out with production and costume".

* * *

General Sing was livid. Tau, Un, and Joyce Kim were sitting quietly. "What were you thinking, where are the scientists? We have nothing to show for our efforts. We have nothing on our rocket propulsion issues. We haven't even started on the laser program. We must find them. I want every building searched, every person checked. Nothing, no one gets out of this complex without one of us PERSONNALY checking the papers"!

Tau sheepishly looked to the general. "Sir, the performing troupe is here. We cannot detain them. It will certainly cause an international uproar if we interfere with the good will tour involving the Americans".

General Sing just sat down and put his head in his hands. "What are the security personnel levels"?

Joyce Kim answered. "They are minimal. The few we had are trying to track and recover the aircraft that was spotted tonight".

General Sing sighed. "It's up to us then".

* * *

Amy, Sheldon, Raj, Bernadette and Howard were together exchanging notes about why each of them was in Korea.

Raj listened intently, "what are the odds that we would all be here"?

"Easily calculable", responded Sheldon. "First, you take"...

"Shut up Sheldon". Howard broke in. "Let's just say it's just an amazing coincidence, as he pulled Bernadette into a hug and gave her a kiss".

"Actually", Dr. Cooper is right, considering your fields of expertise, and your social grouping along with your chosen pair bonding, the odds would be greatly decreased". The group of friends turned and said in unison, "DENNIS... let it go"!

Amy stopped the discussion. "We need to get some sleep". Amy and Sheldon retired to a sofa, reclined on one end and Sheldon tenderly held Amy just like their cuddling they have been getting comfortable with. Howard brought Bernadette close and giving her a big kiss. Raj and Dennis curled up on the floor and went to sleep.

Leonard was still sitting with Penny. She was feeling a little better. They had gotten the stage makeup off and Leonard could see that she was a little pale. He was a little concerned, but to him, she was the most beautiful sight he could lay his eyes on. She had sat up and was leaning her head on his shoulder with her arms around his waist. He had an arm around her shoulder and held one of her hands intertwining their fingers with his other hand.

"Leonard"? Penny quietly asked, "What's gonna happen with us"?

"Well", Leonard thought for a moment... "in the long run, we will be sitting at a long table for a holiday dinner with our kids and grandkids as I explain how liquids with differing specific gravities react in a cylinder"...

"Leonnnaaard...please, I'm afraid". Penny had a little catch in her voice. "I thought I lost you, I can't tell you how that felt. It was so alone, even in a room full of friends, so alone. I had a night mare that you were floating alone in the Sea … And now this, how are we gonna get out of this? I can't lose you again"... She started to cry into his shoulder.

"Penny", Leonard said softly as he gave her a kiss on the top of her head, "we'll be fine. I don't know how we will get out of here, but we will. I won't leave you...ever again. I thought I lost you too, and I thought I would never see you again. It just made me want to try and get to you more and more. I would dye trying just to see your beautiful face, to hear your voice, to hold you"... Penny looked up at Leonard, kissed him, broke the kiss, ran to the bathroom and threw up.


	20. Chapter 20

**Don't own a thing**

Angela, Bobby and Captain Chu had just gotten back from discussing their plan with the Director. He was completely on board. He was a bit of a dramatic. He had always been a fan of James Bond pictures, even serving as an extra on one or two of the movies. He pointed out that things might get a little tough as they did not have traveling papers for Dennis, Leonard, Howard, Raj, Sheldon, or Captain Chu. Amy and Bernadette had guest paperwork, and Angela, Penny, and Bobby were cast members. They discussed the difficulties and decided to go with what they had. Time was of the essence. There were only a few security personnel on site and it would be easier to go with the current confusion. If they waited, more security would come and their chances would decrease.

Leonard had fallen asleep with his arm around Penny just like they normally did whenever they slept together. She had pulled his arm close and held it tight. She snuggled as close as she could and held on like it would be their last night together. That was something she didn't want to have happen ever again. This was the first truly peaceful night's sleep Penny had had since that awful night that Leonard didn't call.

Leonard had held her close comforting her after she came back from the bathroom. She was quietly snoring and seemed so content. She even had that small smile that seemed ever present when they were together. Leonard could feel the slow rhythmic rising and falling of each breath. Leonard didn't want to disturb her when he woke up, she looked pale and he was a little worried. He needed to talk to Bernadette, she was one of Penny's best friends and surely Penny would have confided in her if anything was wrong.

Bernadette woke up first and was coming out of the bathroom when Leonard noticed her. He slowly unwound himself from Penny's grasp. Penny started to stir so he stopped, not wanting to interrupt her rest. She settled back down and as she turned over Leonard quickly got up to join Bernadette.

Bernadette wanted to speak with Leonard almost as much as he wanted to speak with her. Leonard sat down next to Bernadette. Howard woke up and joined his wife and friend. Bernadette gave Leonard a big hug. "Leonard, it's so good to see you. We were so worried".

Howard put his hand on Leonard's shoulder. "The University didn't have very many details, they said you were lost at sea. Quite frankly, we thought you might be dead. I can't tell you how relieved I was to see you. You were put on that expedition with my recommendation. I gotta tell you, I was feeling mighty responsible for you going missing".

"Howard", Leonard said, putting his hand on Howard's shoulder, "Please don't think anything of it, it was my choice to go".

Bernadette said, "Penny took the news pretty hard Leonard, we need to talk".

"Bernadette", Leonard looed worried. "That's why I came over here. I didn't want to wake her and have her hear us talking. Last night, she looked so pale and then got sick. Is she Ok"? Bernadette looked concerned.

"Leonard", Bernadette said with concern in her voice. "We were sitting around eating Chinese just like always. She was so excited to tell you about this play and she wanted to surprise you when you called because we were all there. When you didn't call, Howie told us what happened. Leonard... she blamed herself for not asking you to stay… She thought she was responsible for killing you. The day after we found out, she wouldn't admit to anything, Amy and I think she was in the denial phase of grieving"

Leonard was positively crestfallen, "oh, my, god... What must have gone through her mind? I never wanted to be the cause for any of her pain. I failed her. But Bernadette, is she OK, physically? She looks so pale, and she was sick last night".

Bernadette struggled with how much she should tell him. "Leonard... Amy and I have only been with her for a few days. Angela is probably a better person to ask".

Amy had walked over as they had been talking. "Shouldn't we explain what we suspect"?

Leonard looked up confused. "Suspect? Suspect what"?

Bernadette looked at Amy. "Amy... we don't know anything for sure and we haven't been cleared to say anything".

Leonard was getting a little upset. "Tell... Me... WHAT"!

Bernadette took Leonard's hands in her own. "The reason Amy and I are here is to work with a bacterial strain that was exhibiting gastrointestinal problems with food poisoning. We discovered that there was another effect. A neurotoxin. It seems the neurotoxin production is short lived but does not completely stop with successive mutations".

Leonard seemed calmer now. "What does this have to do with Penny"?

Amy sat down and put a hand on his shoulder. "We have only been with her a few days. She told us she thought she ate some bad fish. She said she has been nauseated, short of breath and has had heart palpitations. By our estimation, the neurotoxin affects the involuntary muscle centers of the brain. The toxin seems to be cumulative in nature. We think she might have been affected".

Leonard was almost pleading. "What can we do"?

Bernadette answered. "We don't know what the toxic level is. We are hoping that the effects wane over time as long as there is no additional exposure. She seemed to be getting better until last night. She really should be seen by a doctor".

Penny started to stir. She couldn't feel Leonard. Where had he gone? Was last night just a dream? Penny called out, "Leonard"?... She rolled over to see her friends. "Leonard"... She held out her arms like a toddler waking from a bad dream.

Leonard went over to her and wrapped her in his arms. She hugged him back, burying her head in his chest below his chin. He kissed her on the top of her head. "Shhh… It's OK... It's OK"... As he comforted Penny, he looked at Bernadette and Amy, with a worried look on his face.


	21. Chapter 21

**Own Nothing**

The plan needed to be put in place quickly this morning. The Director would go with the organizers of the play and demand that they be let out of the complex. The people would produce their identification papers, they would be let through and get on the busses to take them to the south. Bobby had been working all night on identification papers for Leonard and Dennis. Howard, Raj, Sheldon and Captain Chu had false ID papers. However, they needed paperwork proving they were part of the troupe and what their jobs were. Angela had taken on this task. Captain Chu was on lookout for any trouble.

After a few hours, the Director and Bobby came back into the room. "OK, they have agreed to let us go as a show that everything is under control. The primary security staff are still out looking for the drone".

Bobby gathered everyone together. "OK folks, this is how we are going to do this. There will be two lines checking paperwork. There will be two guards watching. Do not make eye contact with the guards. Give the paperwork to the official at the table. Only respond to questions if directly asked. There will be two lines. One line, headed by Angie, will be for the Actors, director, stage and costume personnel. The other, headed by me, will be for the set, lighting and other support staff".

Everyone was studying their paperwork in case they were asked any questions. Howard, Leonard and Dennis were assigned as a stage hands who moved the sets between scenes. They would be with Bobby. Raj was assigned to the makeup crew. Sheldon and Captain Chu were assigned to the stage direction crew under Angie. Penny, Amy and Bernadette would be with Angie because Penny was a cast member while Amy and Bernadette were guests of the Director.

Penny immediately took exception to this placement. "No way, I'm going with Leonard". Angie and Bobby tried to reason with her but she would have none of it. "I don't care if we have to dig a hole and tunnel out of here, I'm not leaving without Leonard right by my side".

Sheldon tried to interject. "Ahem… you can dig all you want, there is simply no direct"…

"SHUT UP SHELDON"! Penny yelled.

At this point, Leonard said, "we need to get going or none of us are getting out of here. She can come with us I'll make sure nothing happens". He put his arm around Penny's waist and she gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

"OK, OK, Bobby let's get going", Angie said as they went through the door and down to the auditorium. The busses were waiting right outside. Dennis had gone to the front of the group so he could see what was going on.

As expected, there were two lines. At one table were General Sing and Agent Tau. At the other table were Joyce Kim and Agent Un. Leonard was immediately tense. Both General Sing and Joyce Kim knew what he and Dennis looked like. Even the meager disguises and clothing they had on could not hide them. Dennis imperceptivity guided the group lead by Bobby over to the table by Joyce Kim. Leonard was even more tense. Penny could tell as Leonard got very stiff and his palms were sweating. Leonard started to get short of breath. He felt like he was having a panic attack, much like the time he asked Penny out on the date that he didn't tell her was a date. He wanted his inhaler, but was sure it would give him away. Leonard was sure he was going to sweat through stage hand uniform.

Penny squeezed his hand then let it go. She put her hand on Leonard's back and started to gently rub it and whispered to him... "relax honey, only a few more steps". Leonard immediately started to relax. Penny looked up and saw the security agent that had processed her through a few days ago, he was also on the bus to the hotel. She remembered what Bobby had told them, _Do NOT make eye contact_. Leonard was calming down until he realized they were going for the table with Joyce Kim. This couldn't be good, not only did she know what he looked like, but she KNEW him in a very personal sense. He started to look around nervously. He just wanted to grab Penny and run.

At the head of the table sat Joyce Kim with Agent Un looking on. He was scanning the group for anything abnormal. He noticed that one of the group members was getting a little fidgety. He was starting to pay attention to this person. Even more attention when he noticed that the beautiful blonde actress that he processed through the other day was next to the fidgety man. He looked at her hair and tried to look into her beautiful green eyes to make sure it was her. It seemed that she was purposefully looking away and being evasive. He then remembered that the actress had the locket with the picture of Dr. Hofstadter in it. He started to walk over to the pair…

The Director of the play was in the line being checked with General Sing. He saw that the security guard from Joyce Kim's line was moving toward the group of people. He could tell by the intense look in his eyes and the direction he was moving, that he was going straight for Penny and Leonard. He had to do something. He immediately started making a fuss. He started complaining of the wait, "who is in charge here? What is taking so long? Who do you think you are questioning us on our intent for being here? We are here at the request of your government. And now you won't let us leave after you completely ruined the performance last night"? He was getting quite loud.

Angie quickly picked up that he was purposefully making a scene for some kind of diversion. She started to make a fuss as well agreeing with all the protests he was making. The whole group started to get unruly. Agent Tau grabbed the director and started to remove him from line. The director was quite a large man and hard to control in his theatrically agitated state.

Agent Tau was having little success in controlling the director. General Sing stood and directed Agent Un to assist him and to take the out of control man to a room and wait with him there. At that point, the line of people at the General's table started to push forward. He started to process the people through at an accelerated rate.

At Joyce Kim's table things were calmer. She seemed to be more methodical in her processing. She asked questions, she examined papers and she was attentive to each person. This worried Leonard further, he was beginning to think that they would be better off in the other line. He was sure that Joyce would detect either Dennis or himself. Dennis Kim was next to be processed.


	22. Chapter 22

**I still own nothing except for the odd minor character.**

**You are too kind with your reviews. This is my first try at Fan Fiction and your responses make that much more enjoyable**

Dennis approached the table. Bobby had gone first and was waiting for the others to pass through. Keeping an eye for potential problems and trying to plan for all potential issues. There had been very little prep time for getting this group out. They had originally planned for just the two scientists and were fairly sure that they could get them through with no problem. Now they had a group of six people without admit paperwork. They had prepared the paperwork identifying them as part of the troupe and their jobs during the night. Their only problem was going to be the lack of admission paperwork, just like the problem in Tehran with his father. He hoped that everyone had their stories straight and could remember the information they were given a short time ago.

Angie had gotten through as well as Amy and Bernadette. They had relative ease at the other table because they all had the proper paperwork.

Sheldon was at the General's table now. He was one of the people without admit papers. When the General started to ask questions, Sheldon diverted the questions into a conversation consisting mainly of inquiries about the Great Leader Kim Il-Sung and his philosophy of Juche. Sheldon was actually accepting of the premise that man is the master of everything and decided everything. He was trying to get the General's perspective on how the laws of Physics might be in conflict with self-determination. The others behind started to get annoyed again and the General let him through.

Raj was right behind and was in deep conversation with one of the makeup girls. They gave the General their papers together and he let them both through.

At Joyce's table, Joyce seemed preoccupied by the problem with the Director. She had no security personnel and the crowds in both lines were beginning to get anxious. Dennis walked up and seemed to have no problem and passed through quickly. Howard likewise seemed to pass through with little trouble. This was turning out to be easier than they had thought. Penny had all her papers as a member of the cast and easily passed through as expected.

Leonard approached the table. He was clearly tense and he looked like he was breathing quickly. This did not help as he could feel another panic attack coming on. He started to sweat again. This was sure to compromise the makeup disguise he had on. He and Captain Chu were the last of the group without admit papers. Captain Chu was right behind him ready to deal with whatever problems came up.

Leonard looked up searching for some type of guidance from Bobby or Angela. He wasn't sure if he could get through the possible interrogation. He simply was one of the worst liars on the face of the earth. He was constantly stammering and bringing up points that had no bearing on the situation at hand drawing out answers to no end. Leonard finally scanned the small group on the other side of the table and saw Penny's calm face looking back at him with those beautiful eyes beckoning him to hold it together. She smiled and mouthed to him_. "Everything will be Okay Dokay"..._ Leonard quickly calmed down, smiled back and stepped up to the table. Joyce looked up at him, and let him pass.

The group was already on their way to the bus when Leonard got through the processing area followed quickly by Captain Chu. Penny had waited for him and grabbed his hand when he got through. She intertwined their fingers and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. They felt the urgency of the moment but were relieved to be through the checkpoint.

Back in the room where Un and Tau were detaining the Director, things were calming down. He was sitting and being questioned intensely. His "performance" was grand and he tried to detain them as long as he could assuring that all the troupe members made it through. Angela was waiting for the director. Time was of the essence. They needed to get going before the full security forces got back from their search for the drone. When he finally emerged they went over to the two buses.

Angela thanked the director for his help, fully recognizing that without his diversion, in all likelihood, they would have been found out and the mission would have been a failure. The consequences would have been catastrophic. The Director was glad to be through, he was looking for some applause for his performance and explaining to Angela how the interrogation went on. Angela needed to break up this moment but didn't want to upset the Director in case more help was needed. He was a bit of a Prima Donna and needed to have his ego stroked a bit. She graciously thanked him and whisked him off to the buses.

When they got to the buses, the group split up. All the regular civilians in the troupe were in one bus, all the scientists, Penny and Captain Chu were with Bobby and herself. Angela hurried all the people onto their buses. Once aboard, Howard high-fived Bobby for the plan and Angela got a huge hug from Raj. Penny settled comfortably into a seat with Leonard putting both arms around him as she settled her head on his shoulder. Leonard put an arm around Penny and gave her a kiss on the head. There was a sincere feeling of relief in the group as they sped down the road to freedom and soon the safe confines of their own homes.

As they were pulling away, the security forces showed up. The forces were the Elite Security Forces. They immediately found General Sing and inquired where Dennis and Leonard were. When told they were not found, he was asked if anyone had left the compound. When General Sing said the performing troupe left in order to avoid any international embarrassment, the commander of the forces was livid. The security forces were the special guard for the regime and had specific order not to permit anyone from leaving. The soldiers loaded back onto their trucks and took off after the two buses.


	23. Chapter 23

The busses were speeding down the road, Angela's group in the second bus. Their bus started to have engine trouble and was falling behind. They had to pull over. The first bus kept going. Angela and Bobby were going to have to find help quickly or they would need to go on foot. They were not far from the southern border, but they needed to cross the Han River between the two countries.

The driver and Bobby tried to fix the buss' engine with no success. The group needed to get out of the buss and into hiding. If they were found, they would be detained.

After a short while a military truck came upon the buss and several soldiers got out to inspect the bus. A short distance away, Captain Chu and Angela were listening to the conversation of the soldiers. It had been assumed that the group in this bus must have joined the other bus when the breakdown occurred. The soldiers got back into their truck and continued after the other bus.

After the soldiers left the group came together and started to walk in a southern direction. They stayed off the paved roads in order to keep under cover. Dennis came to the front with Angela as he was familiar with the lay of the land. Captain Chu brought up the rear with Bobby. Dennis had gotten out of the country the first time on a similar route. He was very familiar with the area and started towards a small fishing village.

The Han River was closed off to boating traffic being that it was the boarder river in this part of the peninsula. It was beginning to get dark when they came upon the village. Dennis assured Angela and Bobby that the people were friendly and they could be trusted with their safety.

As they approached the village, Dennis seemed to be headed to a particular home. It was getting dark and the residents of the home were lighting candles for the evening. This was a particularly remote location and it didn't look like there were many of the modern necessities such as they had back home.

There was an elderly woman sweeping the front entrance and putting out some scraps for what must have been the pet dog. She looked completely content with her routines. Routines that she undoubtedly performed countless times before. There was a call from inside that sounded like an elderly man.

She started to reply when the dog came around the side of the house. He was growling with his nose in the air, pointing directly in Dennis' direction. The old man emerged from the doorway, looking into the woods where they were hiding.

Angela waved for everyone to get down. She was scanning the group when Dennis stood up and walked into the clearing. The dog started barking and the old man had all he could do to hold him back. As Dennis walked out, Captain Chu and Angela tried to grab him.

"Dennis, get back here" Angela ordered.

"There is no need to be frightened". He responded. Dennis then turned and approached the elderly couple. Dennis bent at the waist in a respectful bow. "Grandfather, Grandmother, I need your help".

The old woman quickly embraced Dennis.

The old man stood there stunned. "What are you doing here, how did you get here? What help do you ask of us"?

Grandfather, please, it is not just myself, I have some friends with me. We all need to cross the river. With this, Dennis motioned to the group to come out of hiding. As the group emerged from the woods, the two elders became worried.

The old woman motioned to them to quickly move into the house. The group went in and sat around a table. The old woman immediately served tea with rice cakes. Dennis was brought into another room by his Grandfather along with Angela. Captain Chu remained with the group in order to translate for the old woman.

Dennis explained all that had happened in the last many weeks. His grandfather seemed more at ease but was worried that the group was almost all Americans. This surely was going to be a difficult task. His grandfather went to meet with one of the younger members of the village.

As they all got back together, Dennis sat at the table to explain to the group. "These are my Grandparents. They are a simple people as are the other residents of the area. The Han River is the border river in this part of the country. The river has been closed to traffic because it is the border. However, the local people are allowed to maintain their livelihood as fishing communities. The loyalty to the area runs strong, not necessarily to the political ties but rather to the land and a way of life. These families go back many generations and have the same traditions as in the past.

Unfortunately, the fishing has been poor recently, there seems to be a higher than normal amount of fish dying for no reason. The elders are worried that they will have to finally give up their way of life. Many of the villagers have also been getting sick. When this happens, they go to the cities for care and most are not seen again.

At this, Bernadette and Amy inquired as to the nature of the illnesses. The old man said, " the people get sick, can't keep anything in their stomach. They weaken and seek medical help from the government.

Amy thought for a minute. "You and your wife seem healthy, often times these types of illnesses prey on the elderly and infirm.

The old man then said, my wife does not like fish. We get food from the city.

Bernadette and Amy made a note to take water samples and some native vegetation.

In order to get safely south, we must cross the river. The direct access bridge will be monitored. We have seen the soldiers go in that direction already. We will need to travel along the river to the east in order to cross more easily. The people of this area have had their families split by the formation of the two countries. There are fishing villages on both sides of the river with family members on both sides. That is how I got out the first time. The patrols are many and are armed. This will not be easy, and it will be perilous.


	24. Chapter 24

**Own nothing**

After the group had settled down, and visited with the elders. They were given rooms to sleep. Penny and Leonard went outside to take in a little fresh air and to be alone. The sky was clear and the stars shown bright. It was a beautiful peaceful night with the sound of crickets in the gently blowing wind. They walked a short distance and sat next to a tree. Leonard had his back against the tree with his arms around Penny sitting in his lap with her head just below his chin.

"Leonard?" Penny asked, "do you think we will get out of this fix we are in"?

Leonard was assuring as possible, "Of course we will. I was worried there for a minute, but we got through OK. Dennis seems to think his family will help. We are not really that far away from safety, we just need to get across the river".

"I know, Penny said with a frown on her face as she rubbed her thumb over the top of his hand. "it's just that… I have this bad feeling that we're not gonna make it. Leonard, I can't… I can't lose you again. It was awful… thinking… you know"…

Leonard was about to comfort her when from behind, he was jabbed in the shoulder. Leonard immediately jumped to his feet and spun around. He had no weapons and he was as Sheldon put it, "worse than useless", if there was to be a physical confrontation. Still, he was going to defend Penny with all he had for as long as it was necessary. However little and short a time that would be.

It was the elderly gentleman that was Dennis' grandfather. Waving his arms and speaking quickly and harshly. Neither Leonard nor Penny had a clue as to what he was saying, but they got up quickly and rushed into the house.

When they entered the room Grandfather was still quite agitated. Grandmother immediately tried to calm him down, which just added to the noise and confusion. Dennis came rushing in to try and control the situation. After a short agitated talk with his grandfather, Dennis approached Leonard and Penny.

Dennis took them aside while his grandmother took his grandfather into another room. "Leonard, you must stay inside. There will almost certainly be patrols and soldiers looking for us. We must start early and get out of the area as quickly as we can. We are very close to the border and they will look here first. It will be difficult enough with such a large group, but we will have the added problem of trying to hide two blonde women".

Leonard and Penny retired to their assigned room. It was a room in the house next door. The house belonged to a family that had some members that had to go to the city for health services. As was custom in the village, their house was entrusted to their neighbor for safe keeping. The accommodations were rather Spartan but comfortable just the same. They were all given clothing that was more suitable for sleeping and clothing for the trip that would not stand out.

Leonard lay down in the room and watched as Penny got ready for bed. She was silhouetted against the night sky putting her hair up in a loose bun on her head. She was truly a site to be seen. He loved her and just wanted to hold her close. Penny came to him and cuddled close. Leonard softly ran his fingers up her side and down in slow arcs from her thighs to along the side of her breasts. Penny was immediately aroused. She hadn't felt his touch for more than a Month and could hardly believe he was holding her now.

Penny turned around to face him and put her hands on the sides of his face and kissed him deeply. Leonard returned the kiss passionately. Penny moved her hands playfully playing with the curls of hair that had grown some since he had left. Leonard moved his hands to Penny's hips and pulled her close. Penny smiled into their kiss, pulled away, pulled off her garments and pleaded. "Leonard, make love to me…Please"….

They had not been together for quite some time. However, they were tender in their actions. Not rough like the rodeo ride after the moon laser. Not awkward like their first encounter. They took advantage of their knowledge of each other. The special places that would send each other into higher planes of ecstasy. Leonard knew the place on Penny's neck that made her feel like jello. Penny would nibble on Leonard's ear lobe.

They had danced this dance many times before. But this time, this time, it was different. They had had awkward sex, they had had normal everyday sex, they had had make up sex, they had had drunken sex, they had had lustful sex. But they had never been apart where they thought they would never have sex again. Even when they were broken up, there was always the thought in both their minds that they would find themselves back together. They never stopped loving each other. Even when they were seeing other people, they thought about each other.

This time, Leonard had thought he would not see her ever again. He thought that his captors would keep him shut away, toiling to their wishes. Avoiding any contact with the outside world. Penny thought that Leonard was gone, lost at sea, never to be seen again.

The feelings they had for each other were magnified tenfold. Their senses were heightened. Each touch was felt with a new found passion. Each caress was softer, each movement was more delicate, they did not toss and turn as much as changed positions carefully as if they were fine china and would break. They started slowly, savoring each touch, each kiss, each caress, moving faster, building on each new level of arousal. Faster, deeper, longer, turning, building, harder, moaning into each other's embrace until finally each reached their climax. They finally fell into each other's embrace. Kissing each other deeply. Holding onto each other and drifted off to a peaceful deep and content sleep.


	25. Chapter 25

**I own nothing**

Dennis wanted to get an early start so he went around and woke everyone. Angela and Bobby were anxious to start also. They wanted to form the plan to get going. First, they needed to try to make everyone look the part because they were going to travel east before trying to cross the river.

They would be traveling for a few days in order to get to a place where they could cross more easily. The river patrols were heavier here because they were so close to Seoul. Also, up river there was a village on the southern shore that had family members. This was not uncommon. When the countries split, there were extended families on both sides. Family was strong in this part of the world and they could be counted on for help.

The more immediate problem, however, was the two blonde ladies. They needed to disguise them. Fortunately, Dennis grandmother knew how to dye hair with black tea. Captain Chu was also skilled in this practice, so they needed to start.

Penny and Leonard were awakened by the local roosters. It was a beautiful morning with the sun just breaking. Penny felt so relaxed after last night. She just wanted to stay in Leonard's arms. Leonard knew this couldn't be, so he prodded her to get up and they found the others.

Bernadette and Penny were actually excited to try out the new look. They also were getting a trim of their long locks to a more appropriate length. Leonard was even on board remembering how Penny looked in the play. After they were dressed, the group bid farewell to Dennis' grandparents and went on their trek to the east. They took the family dog with them to serve as an early alarm system. Dennis assured the group that the dog would be fine and be able to find his way back when they left him and crossed the river.

Captain Chu and Dennis lead the group while Angela and Bobby kept up the rear. The first day's travel was rather pleasant. Everyone was a little calmer and actually enjoyed each other's company. Angela urged the group on and to pick up the pace. She knew that they would be looked for and it was imperative they cross the river as soon as possible.

A few hours after the group left, Dennis' family had cleaned the area and there was no trace that they had company the night before. Just as Grandmother was getting ready for an early evening supper, soldiers came up to the village. As theirs was one of the houses on the farthest outskirts of the village, they were visited first. This group of soldiers were the regular army. They were by a young woman that was not in uniform.

Joyce Kim politely approached the elderly couple and respectfully bowed. Grandfather addressed the woman. "Why have you come? We have not seen a government representative for a long time. Why do you come with soldiers"?

Joyce was contrite. "We mean no disrespect. We are looking for escaped spies that are guilty of crimes against the State. We must look for them in all the villages. We believe that they will attempt to cross the river. The bridges are all monitored, so they will cross the river by boat. Are there any missing"?

Grandmother came in with tea. "Please sit and have tea. You must have traveled a long way and you must be very tired".

Joyce tried to leave quickly but Grandmother was persistent. She sat and visited with them while the soldiers searched the other houses in the village. After an extended visit, one that was surely longer than Joyce had planned, the soldiers returned and reported that there were no boats missing and no spies found. They had left a pair of soldiers at the east end of the village as guards to make sure no one approached that was unauthorized.

Grandmother tried to get the soldiers to stay for a short meal but were told to start for the next village as Joyce had the feeling that the elderly couple was making far too big a fuss and intentionally detaining them. Joyce respectfully said her goodbyes and led the soldiers off. She was intent upon making up the extra time spent in the house.

As Joyce approached the two guards, they seemed agitated. They approached her. "we have found a trail that leads off to the east. It runs off the regular path into the woods and then turns east". They brought the group to the trail.

Joyce recognized this as a possible escape route. "This trail seems to be used by more than one or two people. It is well trodden, this looks as if a group of people have used it. Quickly, follow it".

Back at the band of friends, things had slowed down. Penny had become exhausted, She was exhibiting all the symptoms that Amy and Bernadette were worried about.

Leonard implored the group. "We need to stop and rest. It is getting late anyway. Please, Penny can't go any farther".

Angela had noticed they started to lag behind. "We need to move on, we are almost there, we need to get you and Dennis over to the other side. Everyone else will just be a political embarrassment and a diplomatic night mare, but they WANT the both of you. YOU TWO are our priority. We must keep going".

Leonard was more forceful. "We cannot go any farther. And I'm NOT leaving Penny".

Bernadette, Howard, Sheldon, Amy and Raj walked up to the arguing pair. In unison they said; "You stay, WE stay! Bernadette added' "we didn't come all this way, find you, only to let you go. We need to rest"!

Captain Chu took Angela aside, "We are in a secluded spot, we can rest for the night, no fires, no lights. We can get an earlier start in the morning. I will take the dog and go back along the trail looking for any trouble".

With that, the group set to rest for the night. Bobby or Angela would spell Captain Chu in four hours.

Joyce and her band of soldiers did not stop to rest. They were hot on the trail and were determined to find the two scientists and whoever was with them.


	26. Chapter 26

**Still own nothing except thanks to those who review**

Before they settled in for the night, Sheldon, Leonard Raj and Howard sat together. Leonard was grateful for the show of unity. He was however, worried for his friends safety. "How are you holding up Sheldon"?

Sheldon was shaken from his thoughts by the question. He tried to be as calm as he could. "Leonard, we have been dragged through muck and mire in a foreign land with untold pestilence. Penny is obviously suffering from some form of infestation. We have had the unenviable delight of sleeping on the floor last night, and now in the open air to be attacked by whatever indigenous fauna this god forsaken country holds. We must still ford the river at whatever point is found to be appropriate, we could be found by patrols, we have no proper paperwork to support any claims that we wandered off from the family picnic, and we are undoubtedly being followed by officials with guns. We are in this country illegally. If we are found, we will be declared spies, and in all likelihood SHOT at dawn. I couldn't be BETTER! He then started to twitch.

Howard looked on in awe. "Hold it together buddy". He then turned to Leonard, "What do you think will happen if we do get out of here"? We got the drone out safely. The controls were destroyed, what were you guys working on"?

Leonard looked down at his hands. "Dennis was working on trajectory and I was jotting down fuel calculations. We didn't have a chance to destroy anything, we had no idea we would be able to get away. Our notes are still back at the missile compound".

Raj put his hand on Leonard's shoulder, "Do you think they could get the mixture right? If they do, it could be very bad if Amy and Bernadette are right about biologic weapons".

Leonard looked up. "Well, every time we finished a mixture, they took the calculations. We screwed them up a bunch of times, so none were the right ones. Still, there are the ones we were working on that we didn't try. If they start to look at the variances in the calculations, they might be able to figure it out. As for the trajectory, we never actually launched a missile, so who knows. I just want to go home".

Bobby came by and told the group that they needed to get to resting. They were going to start before sunrise tomorrow in order get an early start. The group broke up and went to rest.

Leonard went over to be close to Penny. He sat down leaning against a tree and she put her head on his lap. Leonard rubbed her back and pushed some stray hair from her face. "How do you feel, Honey"?

Penny looked up at him. "Thank you for making us stop, I feel better now, but boy, was I whipped". I just feel bad I caused us to stop. We may have been able to make it and cross tonight. We could be safe already. Instead, we are still here and we could get caught. If that happened, I'll never forgive myself. She started to cry, "You heard Angie, they want you two. They don't care about us. They could take you back and who knows what they would do to us".

Leonard ran his hand through her hair. "Penny, please know that everything will be fine. We're close to being free. We'll make it, you'll see. Now please rest. We have a while to go and tomorrow we won't stop to rest. We need you to be strong. Sleep now, my love". With that, Penny drifted off to sleep.

During the night, Angie replaced Captain Chu as the look out. Before dawn, she decided to do a little recon. She took the dog and went off to the west tracing back in their trail. After a while, the dog started to get restless. Angie tied the dog and went to look ahead. Not far along, she came upon the soldiers' encampment. She saw that they were sleeping. What surprised her was that they were closer than she would have liked. She immediately turned and went to get the dog. They needed to get moving quickly.

About half way back to the group, it started to rain. This was both a blessing and a problem. The group would be awake, but so would their pursuers. When Angie got back, she got every ones attention. "The soldiers are closer than I had hoped. They must have kept coming after dark. They are certainly awake due to the rain. This means we need to get going NOW. The rain will help because it will help cover our tracks and make it more difficult for them to see which way we went. Hopefully that will give us the edge we need to get across. Now, let's get moving. We are going to have to quicken the pace, Penny, are you OK?

Penny looked at the group. "I'm fine, don't worry about me. Just keep going . I won't hold you up". With that, they started off at a very quick pace.

* * *

Joyce had the soldiers up and on the trail. She knew that their tracks would only last so long in this rain. However, she had an idea where they were headed. They wasted no time. They were all physically fit and were moving at a quicker pace than Angie's group.

* * *

As the rain intensified, the going got rough and the footing was more treacherous. The Pasadena group was certainly not in any kind of physical shape for this. Penny started to get short of breath, she started to lag behind. Leonard noticed and went to help her. He put his arm around her. "Penny, are you OK"?

Penny started to gasp for air. "Leonard, GO… I'm fine… GO… get up with the others…

Leonard held tighter. "I'm not going ANYWHERE. I told you I wouldn't leave you ever again and I meant it. Stop arguing, and let's see if we can catch up".

Penny started to cry and fell on one knee. "Leonard GET GOING… I won't be the cause of you getting caught. I wouldn't be able to live with myself"!

At that moment, Bobby came up. "Will you two stop arguing, we need to get out of here. He then told Penny to jump on piggyback and off they went. They had no idea how far behind the group they had fallen. Bobby was having no problem carrying Penny. She only weighed about one hundred ten pounds. In training, they had field packs weighted down with more. Leonard on the other hand was having a hard time keeping up. The pace Bobby put up was quicker than then what the group was originally moving.

Along the trail, they came across the dog when they stopped to give Leonard a breather. Just as they were going to start up again, the dog started to growl down the trail they had just come from. Bobby put Penny down to look and see what was agitating the dog. Not far down the trail, Bobby saw the advancing group of soldiers.


	27. Chapter 27

**Still own nothing**

Dennis led the way to where the crossing was to take place. Waiting for them were two men with two boats. One of the men was from Dennis' grandfathers' village. Grandfather had requested that he go up stream and secure passage for the group to the South. He had provided him with a contact and called on the loyalty of the simple village people. Dennis approached the other man. "Uncle, it is so nice to see you again. Thank you for meeting us".

Dennis' Uncle replied. "Dennis, this is getting far too frequent. We must find a way to keep you on the right side of the river". How many of you are there? Have you been followed?

Dennis explained "there are eleven of us. We believe that we are being followed by a group of soldiers. We do not think they are very far behind".

Dennis' Uncle looked worried. "We will need to make two trips. We only have two boats. We can take four across in each boat, come back with two boats and then take the last three. Where are the people"?

Dennis directed his uncle to a small clearing. Standing near the woods were Bernadette, Howard, Raj Sheldon, Amy, Captain Chu and Angie. "Where are Leonard, Penny and Bobby"?

Angie looked around. "DAMN, where are they? They were behind us. I'm going to go look for them".

Dennis' Uncle was very forceful. "We need to get going NOW. We will need to make two trips. We can take seven over now and come back for the others. Can you remember where we are now? There will not be anyone here for you to call out to until we get back".

Angie took a quick look around. "Actually, I have my GPS watch. I can be right back here to this spot. Get going. Get these people out of here". At that, Angie went back down the trail to find the three others.

Dennis looked at the group who were clearly at the end of their collective wits. "Sheldon, Amy, Howard and Bernadette, If you would please go with the man from Grandfathers village. Raj, Captain Chu and myself will go with Uncle". The small groups of people broke apart and went to their boats leaving the North Shore and headed for freedom. The rain and grey skies would help conceal the boats as they made their way to and from their destination.

Sheldon held Amy's hand as they entered the boat and sat down. Amy was exhausted and put her head on his shoulder. Sheldon smiled and gave her a small hug. Howard sat with Bernadette turned to her and kissed her as they pulled away from shore. Raj sat with Dennis and Captain Chu wondering out loud, "I sure hope they make it OK".

Dennis replied, "They will… they have to"…

* * *

Bobby ran back to Penny and Leonard, grabbed Penny, flung her on his back and said, "Time to GO"…! He was practically jogging when they ran into Angie. "Wrong way Ange… they're right behind us". Angie quickly turned around and followed the other three. She was pretty impressed at how quickly Leonard was running. She thought to herself, "_look at what a little added incentive can do for you_".

They got to the clearing and the boats were not back yet. DAMN, she thought. "We need to hide. Get to the trees". There was a small thicket of trees not far from where they were supposed to meet Dennis' Uncle. It was just thick enough to hide them from the advancing soldiers.

* * *

Joyce came upon the clearing and immediately went to the shore. The shoreline was rocky, so there was no evidence of any boat landings, launchings or people anywhere. She went back to the clearing and met with the soldiers. "Keep going, they can't be far from here, this is a narrow part of the river. If they don't cross here, they will not have another good crossing area for another ten kilometers. As the soldiers continued down the path, Joyce followed and then stopped a short distance down the trail.

* * *

As the two boats reached the other shore, the group was met by members of the South Korean Military. They were very happy to see that Captain Chu had made it safely. They were also glad to see Howard, Raj and Sheldon. The two boats let out a small cheer as they landed.

Howard wanted to know if the drone was still intact. He was assured it was and they thanked him. There would be an official debriefing as soon as everyone was rested and scheduled. Amy and Bernadette had kept the water and fish samples they had taken from Dennis' grandparents village. They inquired as to where the Health Department was because they wanted to deliver the samples to complete their work.

Dennis was greeted by a government dignitary congratulated once again and officially offered asylum. "Uncle, you must return for Leonard and the others. They will be waiting for you". The two boats then left the shore and headed back North. Dennis' Uncle's boat went for the transfer point. The other boat went off to catch some fish. If he was caught by a patrol, he would have an excuse for being there.

* * *

Angie stepped out of the trees and made her way to the shore trying to make out the boats. Bobby walked up next to her. "Can you see anything"?

Angie turned to Bobby and said; "Not a thing, they need to get back here. Leonard is important to them, we need to get him out. Let's get back to them, there's no telling how long the soldiers will be gone".

Back in the clearing, Leonard and Penny had stepped out from the trees and were in each other's embrace. "Leonard" Penny said softly, "We're never getting out of here".

Leonard placed a soft kiss on Penny's head, "We'll be fine, all our friends are safe, we're so close. Any minute now the boat will come back".

Angie and Bobby came back from the shore, "No sign of the boats. We need to get back into hiding in case the soldiers come back". Penny was back in the trees first and out of sight.

As the others started back to the thicket, a shuffling sound came from behind. Joyce Kim stepped out of the trees pointing her revolver at Angie and Bobby.


	28. Chapter 28

**I own nothing**

"Everybody sit down with your hands on your head". Joyce ordered. "You two", pointing to Angie and Bobby, "Get away from each other".

Leonard stepped out and away from the thicket of trees they had used for hiding, trying to get Joyce away from Penny. "Joyce, Please…. Let us go, you can't really believe that we will help you? Dennis is already gone. We're of no use to you. Let us go… There will be a big international incident".

Joyce looked at Leonard and moved in an arc opposite his bringing her close to the thicket. "Leonard, please, you have two agents with you, they are probably on orders. However, we will never prove it. All your intelligence agencies will deny any involvement. They will be classified as rogue agents, if they are acknowledged at all. You are on your own".

Penny jumped out of the trees and swung at Joyce. Joyce ducked under the punch, crouched down and hit Penny in the solar plexus. Penny dropped like a ton of bricks and curled up. She lost her breath and was trying to gasp for air. Her mouth was opening but no air would enter or exit her lungs.

Leonard ran over to her. "Penny, are you OK"?

Bobby got up, ran over to her and grabbed her knees flexing them to her chest and back. After a few times Penny gasped a huge breath of air and said "OOF, I'm OK, STOP".

At that point Dennis' Uncle appeared from the shore. And in a firm tone, called out; "What have you done"!

Angela took this chance to rush Joyce. She charged Joyce and tackled her, catching Joyce's face with her shoulder. The two women tumbled to the ground. Angie quickly got up and looked for the dazed Joyce. Joyce rolled over and put the back of her hand to her bleeding mouth. As she turned toward Angela, Angie punched Joyce knocking her to the ground. Angie then commanded, "STAY DOWN"!

Dennis Uncle firmly but in a hushed tone, spoke, "Quiet, Everyone, we do NOT want to alarm the soldiers and bring them back". He turned to Angie standing over Joyce. "Joyce, are you OK"?

Angie and Bobby quickly looked at Dennis Uncle, confused.

Joyce, holding her eye that was now swelling, stated, "I am fine Father".

The elder Korean stood facing the group with Joyce's gun.

Angie and Bobby were standing together trying with all they had to make sense of what was happening. This was their only way out.

Leonard was leaning over Penny when she regained her breath. "Damn!, Penny said, "I guess goin Nebraska on someone's ass loses a little in the translation. What the hell is going on"? She scanned the group and immediately got nervous.

Everyone calmed down, Joyce approached her Father. "We need to get these people out of here".

As they were speaking, the sound of a boat motor could be heard from the river. It was not close to the shore, so the patrol was just making their routine surveillance. Joyce's Father motioned to everyone and commanded, "Get Down"! At this everyone was very confused.

Joyce could see the confusion. She moved over to Penny and helped her to her feet. "Are you OK? I'm sorry, it was just a reflex, I meant no harm".

Angela stepped in, "What the HELL is going on"?

Joyce's Father stepped up to the group, "She is on our side. We must wait until the patrol leaves and then get across the river". He then went down to the shore to survey the progress of the patrol with Angie. As they watched, the patrol boat slowed and stopped. They had found the other boat with the fisherman form Grandfathers' village. There seemed to be some yelling and pointing of guns. The fisherman then reached down and picked up a line with a few fish. There was more waving of hands and yelling. The patrol boat took the fish and then started on their way up river, continuing on their patrol duties.

Bobby went up the trail to monitor if the soldiers would come back.

Penny sat on a fallen tree with Joyce for a little chat. "I'm fine now, that's quite a kick you have".

Joyce smiled back feeling her jaw, "yes it is, but nothing compared to what you have... You and Leonard"?

Penny smiled back messaging where Joyce kicked her, "yeah, so... Hands off, I've heard about you two".

Joyce smirked back, "nothing to worry about, we only knew each other for twelve hours before that CRAZY roommate of his screwed it up. Is it true, what they say about Leonard...you know… king of foreplay"?

Penny said back with an air of victory, ",ohhh… yeah...".

Joyce looked on unhappily, "too bad then".

Penny looked back at her, " hey... like I said... Hands OFF".

Leonard then walked over, what are you talking about?

Penny just smiled at him, "just comparing notes on how you are in the sack".

Angie walked up and said, "I hate to break this up but we need to get going". She. Offered a hand to Joyce. "Sorry about all that".

Joyce looked back. "You wouldn't have been so lucky if Father was not here. We would also be on our way back to the compound".

Angie was now very confused "I thought you were on our side".

Joyce answered, "loyalty runs deep in our family, that is why I let you and my cousin through. Make no mistake, I am loyal to my government. My father and I agree on all but that. My injuries will help convince my people I made every effort to capture the scientists. For that I thank you".

At that point Bobby came back, "I don't see anyone coming, but just the same, can we please leave"?

Joyce's Father came up from the shore, "all is clear, they have gone. The weather is starting to clear, we need to leave now. Daughter, it was good to see you, I hope you have been well?

Joyce stepped forward and gave her father a hug, "I have been well, say hello to mother and tell Dennis not to come back again".

With that the five boarded the boat and went off into the clearing mist to South Korea.


	29. Chapter 29

**Still own Nothing**

As the boat approached the shore everyone was waiting. The diplomatic attaché that was talking to Dennis walked over to help Penny off the boat. "Welcome, Miss". When Leonard got off, he shook his hand and welcomed him "Dr. Hofstadter, we are so glad you are safe". He then turned to Dennis Uncle and addressed him, "Colonel Kim, we are once again indebted to your service".

"Dr. Hofstadter and Dr. Kim, please come with me, you are to be debriefed. Captain Chu, Drs. Cooper and Koothrapoli and Mr. Wolowitz, you need to see the military command. Agents Paige and Mendez, the U.S. Ambassador is waiting for you. Ladies, we will be dropping you off at the offices of the Health Department.

Penny spoke up at that point. "I would like to go with Leonard if that is OK"?

The diplomat looked back. "I'm quite sorry, but their debriefing is a State matter".

Bernadette really wanted to discuss Penny's symptoms with the health department so she broke in. "It's OK, Penny, you can come with us. After we get finished, we can go back and get cleaned up for the guys".

Amy then looked excited, "Maybe we could find one of the communal baths".

Penny and Bernadette then turned quickly, "NO"!

* * *

The soldiers came back to the clearing. They found Joyce beaten and bloodied. The leader of the squad asked what happened? Joyce told them, "When you left, I thought I heard something in the trees. I stayed back to investigate and came across the deserters. We had a scuffle and I was overpowered. The squad leader wanted to know which way they went but Joyce just told them, "I was subdued and knocked unconscious. I didn't see which way they went". Because of her apparent injuries, there was no question she was telling the truth. The soldiers split up and started looking for the deserters once again.

* * *

Back at the missile complex, General Sing was going over the notes left by Dennis and Leonard. He directed some of the staff members to compare the notes with the previous attempts. Along with the fuel calculations, there were notes on trajectory. General Sing would need to get this Information to proper scientists for evaluation.

* * *

Dennis and Leonard were led onto a room with scientists, military personnel and diplomats. They had a long conversation about the apparent state of development of the missile program. When the topic arose of their attempts to augment the propulsion systems, Leonard felt as if he were put on the hot seat.

One of the Military officers asked, Dr. Hofstadter, we need to know exactly what you have told them. It will be a grave situation if you have led them to enhance their capabilities.

Leonard asked for a pad and a pen. He then asked Dennis over and the two of them were writing equations and lists of chemicals. "These are the equations that we had given them for the mixture of the fuel. Most were not effective, about half a dozen caused uncontrolled, delayed spontaneous explosions. The last equation was not tried". The information was passed to the scientists.

The lead scientist took the information and commented, "These calculations appear to be purposefully altered to create unstable reactions. That is very cleaver of you both".

Leonard replied, "Thank you, we had no intention of helping them, we were just trying to bide our time until we could figure a way out". Dennis just smiled in agreement.

The Military Officer turned to Dennis. "Dr. Kim, was there any useful information left on the trajectory information?

Dennis smiled back. "It seems they have not made any advancements since I left the first time. I recalculated a few things to make it appear that we were cooperating but I left them with nothing useful, in fact I would be surprised if they helped at all".

The Military Officer and the Diplomats conferred. "Very well Gentlemen, you are free to go".

* * *

Raj Sheldon and Howard were meeting with Military Air Guard officers. Sheldon was speaking, "As you can see, the navigation was flawless.

"Yes, Yes", the Officer commented, "but what we are interested in is the software to mask the upload signals through the satellites".

Captain Chu answered, "Dr. Koothrapoli and I had extensive conversations about the software, I can relay any information to the appropriate people".

The Officer turned to Howard, "The specifications for the drone are not complete. Do you have copies that you can turn over to us"?

Howard replied, "Depending on your point of view, this is a good thing. All the designs and specs were sent by the same feed through the satellites to the U.S. Military. There are no hard copies available. You will have to negotiate with the U.S. Department of Defense through whatever channels you have". He then shrugged his shoulders. "SORRY".

The Officer turned to the group, "Gentlemen, thank you, it was very helpful for you to work with us, and very gracious of your government and University to allow you to come, you are free to go".

* * *

Joyce and the squad of soldiers were arriving back at the missile compound. Tired, dirty and particularly in Joyce's case, beat up. She was not looking forward to this meeting.

General Sing was sitting at his desk looking over the information left from Leonard and Dennis. "Dr. Kim, what can you tell me? When can we get these scientists back to work? The eyes of the State are on us.

Joyce looked at him directly in the eyes. "They have escaped. We could not find any of them".

General Sing was livid. "WHAT? HOW COULD YOU BE SO INEPT? THIS IS A DISASTER! BRING IN THE MISSILE COMMANDER NOW!

General Sing practically threw the information from Leonard and Dennis at the Commander. "MAKE THESE CHANGES NOW. READY THE MISSILES FOR LAUNCH. WE WILL NOT BE DETERED IN OUR EFFORTS TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT WE ARE NOT TO BE IGNORED"!

Joyce tried to calm the situation. "General, we must evaluate the information for possible errors"…

General Sing spun on his heel. GET OUT OF HERE. I AM TIRED OF WAITING FOR YOU SCIENTISTS TO COME TO AGREEMENT. WE WILL FIRE THOSE MISSILES!

**A/N OK the group is safe in the South. Now they need to get home**


	30. Chapter 30

**Still own nothing**

Bernadette, Amy and Penny were ushered into the office of the Health Commissioner for the province. Bernadette presented the information. "Dr. Wong, we have collected samples of both food and water that contains bacterial specimens that may be of great danger. The bacteria exhibit both gastric and neurotoxic symptoms to the affected patients".

Dr. Wong was intrigued. "Thank you for the specimens, we have been tracking symptoms that you have mentioned. However, the neurotoxic issues you speak of are new to me".

Amy stepped forward, "We have demonstrated that the neurotoxin produced wanes over time giving rise to the classic gastric symptoms. However, the toxin production does not completely stop. There may be a cumulative affect if the individuals continue to be exposed. We have a suspected case of exposure with us". She then pointed to Penny.

Penny was sitting quietly off to the side not really paying attention, planning how she was going to get primped and proper for Leonard. She wanted this night to be extra special. She kind of heard what was being discussed, "WHAT"? …. WHO ME? …. WHEN? … WHERE? ….

"Calm your pretty little head Bestie". Amy looked over at Penny. "We think you picked it up when you ate some of the local cuisine. And, you seem to keep ordering more of the suspected Kimchi culprit whenever we order food. You seem to have quite the taste for it".

Penny looked a little distraught at this point. Hey… I happen to like that stuff… what do you mean TOXIC?

Bernadette interjected. "OK, OK, as you can see here in the data reports we have, the bacteria produce a neurotoxin similar to the way Clostridium botulinum does. But the effect is not as severe unless the production of the toxin by the bacteria is at its maximum. The production seems to wane quickly.

Dr. Wong sat back. We can give your friend antitoxin for botulism as a safety measure. The effect may be muted because the bacteria may not cross react equally. We will take the specimens and start to produce specific antitoxin. We will be in touch with the U.S. CDC for their assistance. Thank you, you are free to go.

Penny grabbed Bernadette's arm. "Is that why I have been feeling SO crappy"?

Bernadette smiled, "We think so, the antitoxin might help, but we need you to get to the Doctor when you get back home. Now, let's go get cleaned up".

At the missile complex, the preparations were being made by the soldiers. General Sing had assigned the scientific staff to look over the documents that were left by Dennis and Leonard. They had decided on trying the new calculations for mixture. They also entered the trajectory information from Dennis into the Missile launch computer.

Joyce was summarily dismissed by General Sing. He fully intended to blame the failure of this project on her and therefore deflecting any negative consequences from himself. Joyce had packed her belongings and was on her way back to her office far away from the missile complex or the economic zone. She was glad that this episode was over. She hoped only that she could salvage her career.

The U.S. Embassy had set the group up in a hotel reserved for diplomats. The guys went to their rooms to freshen up before meeting the girls for dinner. They had no clean clothing so they were all given a small stipend to pay for some incidentals. Each of the guys had contacted their credit card companies and had money advanced through the Hotel. The Guys then added the girls to their accounts at the Hotel and made Spa appointments for them.

The guys met the girls in the lobby of the hotel and explained the room and stipend. The girls just wanted to clean up. Leonard and Howard suggested that the girls go to the spa so they could try to get the tea out of their hair. And while they were there they could be pampered a bit. The girls thought that was a fantastic idea and off they went. When the girls got to the Spa, they were told that they had been set up for a full two hour treatment. They were to meet later to go shopping for some decent clothes.

The guys went to the bar to get a drink. They were watching some local news and saw that there was to be a fireworks display tonight over the river. It wasn't that far, so they were all excited. After the spa, the girls met the guys in the bar and set out to do a little shopping. Even Sheldon was up for the task. Seoul was the fourth largest metropolitan area and he was actually eager to see it. Penny and Bernadette had had their hair dyed blonde to cove the tea dye earlier.

Penny quickly grabbed Leonard's arm and walked close beside him. "Penny", Leonard said to her, "You need to tell me if you get tired walking. We can go back to the hotel and wait for everyone there".

Penny smiled back, "Oh Sweetie… I'm OK. But that was a cute offer to get back to the Hotel, raising an eyebrow. Before we do, I want to pick up a few nice things to make it extra special. If you get my drift"… Leonard smiled at her and gave her a big hug.

The Girls went into some shops to pick out something nice to wear for dinner. Penny had picked out a very sexy low cut red and white cocktail dress that was very complementary to her in all the right places.

The guys went into some men's shops to pick out something casual and comfortable. Leonard picked out nice slacks and a sports coat.

Everyone had a nice dinner, they were out on a balcony of a restaurant that advertised good viewing for the fireworks show. They were talking about the events of the last few months since they were last together at home. Amy asked Sheldon, "So Sheldon, How is that Action, Reaction equation of yours working out"?

Sheldon looked away from the fireworks in contemplative thought, "Hmmmmm… well….. It seems that we have a resolution to the original Action of seemingly losing Leonard…. But… the resulting Reaction does not seem to resonate with the appropriate force"…..

At that moment as the group was watching the fireworks facing south in a bend in the river, over their shoulders to the North was a large sound followed by sirens. These were the air raid sirens meant to alert the population if there were imminent hostilities by the North.

In the confusion, they all stood up, looked toward the north and saw a HUGE EXPLOSION lighting up the night sky. A short time later, the sirens stopped and the all clear signal was heard.

Sheldon remarked, "Now, THAT is a REACTION"!


	31. Chapter 31

**It would be nice to own something, but... no**

As the group was watching the flash decrease, Leonard's phone rang. "Hello? Yes this is Dr. Hofstadter.

The group turned their attention to Leonard. Penny questioned, "Who is it Sweetie"?

Leonard held up a finger to pause their questions. "Really, well, yes that would be fine. I'm not sure if he will agree but I can meet with you tomorrow. Thank you, goodbye".

Now that Leonard had put the phone away, Penny asked, "What's up Sweetie"?

Leonard looked up, "It seems the Hawking Group would like to talk to Dennis and me about continuing with the expedition".

The looks on the group's faces were pure shock. In unison they said, "Are you CRAZY?...

NO WAY IN HELL AM I LETTING YOU GO!..., Absolutely NOT….., You have GOT to be kidding…, After what we have been through?..., That's Great Leonard, When do you leave"?

Every one turned to look at Sheldon, Penny was about to throw him to the ground and pummel him…

Leonard stepped between Penny and Sheldon. "Hold on, this is still a great opportunity… I think that I should at least give them a chance to talk… just hear them out"….

The restaurant was next to a public park that nestled up to the river. Penny dropped Leonard's hand and ran off. Bernadette quickly followed her. Leonard yelled after her, "Penny…. Wait"….

Sheldon stopped Leonard from leaving. "Leonard, what did they say"?

"Sheldon, what is WRONG with you"? Leonard looked exasperated at the group. "They have a bunch of data and they want us to look it over and see if there is anything else they need. The expedition is winding down and they want to collect the sensors but not until they are relatively sure they have the data they need. I need to find Penny"….

* * *

Penny had run to a bench in the park beside a tree. As Leonard approached, she was facing away with Bernadette beside her rubbing her back as he listened.

Penny was hunched over with her head in her hands. "Bernadette, I can't do this again, I can't go through that feeling of loneliness, of not knowing, it's too hard, I'm not strong enough, I want to be, but I'm not, I love him, I can't lose him again"….

Leonard walked silently up to Bernadette and tapped her on the shoulder. Bernadette could see the request in his eyes and switched positions with him. Leonard softly spoke. "I love you too".

Penny spun around, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. She pulled away from him just enough for their foreheads to be touching. "Leonard, don't go…, last time you said you wouldn't go if I asked you to stay…, please don't go…, I can't do this again…, you have no idea…

Leonard brushed away her tears with his thumb. "Penny, I know exactly how you feel. It was hard, so hard being away from you. The ache was so deep".

Penny looked into his eyes, "then how can you even think about going back?... Please Leonard…, don't go"…

Leonard looked deeply into her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere, I just want to talk to them. They didn't say anything about going back to sea. They want us to look at the data, that's all. I don't even know if Dennis is willing to continue. I just want to talk to them. I told you I would never leave you again and I meant it".

Penny felt a little better and gave him the slightest of smiles. "OK, but if you go, I go. No questions asked. Final offer".

Leonard giggled, "Deal, now let's get back to the others".

* * *

Leonard and Penny joined the group and everyone seemed to be getting tired. It had been a long couple of days and they just wanted to get some sleep.

* * *

Penny was standing by the window wearing the robe from the hotel looking out at the beautiful lights of the city. Leonard walked up behind her and put his hands around her waist and his chin on her shoulder. She took his hands and brought them up and kissed them. She then turned around to face Leonard and kissed him passionately. These moments were the times that she had missed the most, the moments that she had thought she had lost, the moments she thought she was going to lose again. She was determined to make sure she would never lose them again.

Penny led Leonard to the bed, sat him down and dropped her robe. Leonard gazed at her beauty. He couldn't believe that she was in front of him, all that they had been through. Every time he looked at her, there was a new feeling of love for her, a deeper feeling. It almost hurt to have her out of his grasp. Penny had always been a beauty to him, but she always had an edge to her, a mischievous side of not knowing what was going to happen. She was always fun, but always a challenge. There was always a small underlying, what some would consider _danger _to her. You never knew just what was going to happen. Since the capture and now their escape, she seemed… softer, muted in some way. When he looked at her, she looked different somehow. She was more beautiful each day. She seemed to have an aura of contentment which calmed her. He pulled her to him caressing her tenderly. They moved under the covers loving each other until they were exhausted and fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

The next morning, Leonard had made an appointment to talk with the Hawking People. They were to meet for breakfast in the café in the hotel. Penny made sure she was with Leonard. She didn't want him to agree to anything that could put him in any danger.

They were quietly talking, while having coffee and muffins when they were approached by a smartly dressed woman. "Dr. Hofstadter I presume"? She said with a proper English accent. "My name is Daphne Smyth, I am representing Professor Hawking".

Leonard stood, "Pleased to meet you, won't you join us? Please help yourself to the coffee and muffins". Daphne thanked him and went to pour some coffee. Leonard whispered in Penny's ear, "you're right, English is the best accent". Penny scowled at him and poked him in the ribs.

Daphne sat and joined them. "Dr. Hofstadter, as I had indicated last night, we would like you to look over the data recovered from the expedition and let us know if there was anything more we needed. Unfortunately, Dr. Kim has declined to join us. Apparently he has a pressing engagement with a military Captain".

Leonard thought to himself, '_Dennis and Captain Chu, good for him'._ "That's too bad, I can look over the data but Dennis had done the original theoretical work and knew what he expected".

Daphne took a sip of her coffee. "Yes, the expectations were his but the experimental design that produced the results were yours. We can probably get a theoretical staff member for his part. Or if you have anyone in mind that you would be more comfortable with"?

Leonard smiled. "A Theoretical Physicist that would be working with Stephen Hawking? I might be able to dig one up". Penny just looked at him.

Daphne smiled. "Great, if you would just give me his name, I will contact him as soon as we conclude. We need to know if he is up on the latest theories".

Penny broke in. "You're not thinking of going back to the boat are you"?

Daphne chuckled, "No, that won't be necessary, the crew is extremely skilled by now on the procedure that would generate any needed additional information. We require only that the data be evaluated for completeness".

Penny smiled. "We're in… um…. Oh….., I'm coming".

Leonard smiled back at Daphne. "Deal breaker, no questions asked"…


	32. Chapter 32

**I own nothing**

The group got to the airport the next morning to say their goodbyes. Leonard, Penny and Sheldon on their way to Cambridge, Raj, Amy, Bernadette and Howard on the way to Pasadena.

Angela met the group of friends at the airport. "Well, I guess you all heard what happened the other night north of the border"?

Penny had her arm around Leonard's waist leaning on his shoulder. "We heard a big noise, and saw some really cool fireworks"...

"Yeah, well, those were fireworks alright", Angie giggled, "it seems that one of their missiles misfired, upon liftoff, crashed and took out the whole missile battery complex. Good work, Leonard, we could use some more of your counter intelligence and misinformation".

Penny laughed. "That's my Leonard, so handsome, just like James Bond. Angie, please come and visit when you're in town".

Angie said, "you got it roomie, you take care of yourself".

The group said their goodbyes. Amy gave Sheldon a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. Sheldon blushed a little, uncomfortable with the public display of affection, but did not complain and returned the hug.

Bernadette and Howard were holding onto each other and just waved. Raj and Amy waved also and went on their way with Howard leading the way.

* * *

As they settled into their seats, Sheldon in the window seat, Penny in the middle, Leonard on the aisle, it was going to be a long flight. Sheldon started by quoting little known facts about Cambridge. He was excited beyond belief about being on the Hawking team. "Penny, did you know Cambridge was founded in 1209 and is the second oldest University in the English speaking world? Such distinguished people such as Darwin, Newton, and Stephen Hawking are alumni. Eighty nine Nobel laureates in all.

Penny needed to fool with him a little. "Newton? Really? The COOKIE guy?

Sheldon looked at Penny in disbelief, "Penn...ugh".

Penny giggled. Ahhh...just messin with ya". Sheldon, you really gotta tune it down a bit. It's gonna be a long flight.

Sheldon turned to look out the window and to muse about meeting Stephen again. This time, he was determined to not disappoint him. He had read all of Dennis Kim's theoretical work on the project to make sure he was up to date. He was actually quite impressed.

Penny just leaned on Leonard's shoulder while holding his hand and drifted off to sleep.

Leonard was going over the data that was sent by the Hawking group. It seemed that after they set up the final parts of the grid, they did actually get some interesting data. Leonard was actually surprised to hear from the Hawking people. He was quite sure he had seen the last of them.

* * *

The landing into Heathrow Airport was smooth for the weather. It was raining and the cloud cover was quite thick. The pilot hadn't taken off the buckle-your-seat-belt light for the last two hours. Aside from Sheldon's aversion to bathrooms on moving vehicles, the inability to relieve himself had him squirming in his seat. The three of them were in the first row of coach class, so there would be only a short delay to get off. When they got to the end of the exit ramp, Sheldon could see the Men's room just across the concourse. He had had to wait long enough. He pushed the people in front of them slightly, "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE! Off he went to take care of business.

* * *

The car sent to pick them up from the airport took them directly to Dr. Hawking's offices. Both Leonard and Sheldon were surprised to be meeting with Dr. Hawking. They had assumed that one of the lead researchers would be over seeing the data reduction part of the project. The three were brought into Dr. Hawking's office.

Sheldon gulped. "I'm going to faint". And down he went.

Penny stooped to help him. "Oh my god Sheldon, are you OK"?

Stephen Hawking rolled in. "OH-NO-NOT-AGAIN".

Leonard approached. "Dr. Hawking, this is truly an honor. Thank you for seeing us and thank you for accepting me on your team. It was a pleasure working with them".

"DR.-HOFSTADTER…

THE-HONOR –IS-MINE….

I-TRULY-REGRET… PUTTING-YOU…

THROUGH-ALL-THE-PERILS…

YOU-HAVE-ENDURED".

Sheldon woke up and was helped to his feet by Penny.

"DR.-COOPER…IT-IS-NICE…

TO-SEE-YOU-AGAIN".

Sheldon was beside himself, "Professor Hawking, THANK YOU for this opportunity. I'm sure we can make something of this hodge-podge of numbers Leonard has cooked up".

"THANK-YOU… FOR-YOUR-ASSISTANCE…

DR.-COOPER. YOUR-EFFORTS-WILL…

NOT-GO-UNNOTICED. IF-WE-INDEED…

MAKE-SOMETHING-OF THE… DATA…

YOU-WILL-BE… RECOGNIZED-IN-AN…

EFFUSIVE-FOOTNOTE.

DR.-HOFSTADTER… YOU-WILL-GET…

FULL-CREDIT… FOR-COMING-UP-WITH…

THE-EXPERIMENTAL… DESIGN".

Leonard smiled, "Thank you sir. We need to get started".

Leonard and Sheldon then got to work pouring over the data that they had been given. Penny looked on in awe. She saw the look in Leonard's eyes as he looked at the data…

She had been to Leonard's lab…, She smiled to herself because not all the "work" in his lab was scientific. She found that as he talked of all the things he found exciting about science, he was in his element, he would be so assertive, so knowing, he would have the upper hand, she would get terribly turned on.

She had certainly listened to him talk of his work when he would come home. She did not really understand a lot of what he said. She just liked listening to his voice. He would speak softly, trying to explain things so she could understand. The excitement he would convey, the passion for the things that he did. Now she was watching something few people got to see, the professional relationship between Sheldon and Leonard.

She always wondered why or even how Leonard could put up with Sheldon. But now, watching them work, their relationship was on a different level. There were no snide remarks as to how menial Leonard's work was. There was no condescension on Sheldon's part. The two of them actually worked well together. They played off of each other. Questions asked, answers given, discussions, possibilities. There was a mutual respect for the other scientist that was really quite remarkable. She was pretty sure that Sheldon would never admit that Leonard was very much on par in situations like this, but she could see the fire in his eyes when discussing the data with Leonard, the passion for scientific discovery.

Penny sat back and smiled thinking of how this was possibly the best that things could be.

She couldn't help but think back on the last few months from when Leonard found out he was asked to go on the expedition. All the problems they had, the hurt, the anguish, the trials, all the friends they made. There were certainly some terrifying times but after all, things seemed to work out pretty well.

After a long day, Leonard and Sheldon had decided that the information that was taken during the expedition could reasonably be constructed into a successful paper. They decided to call it a night. They would give their results and opinions to the Hawking group in the morning. They didn't think that any additional information needed to be gotten.

Penny had fallen asleep on an overstuffed sofa. Leonard gently woke her. "Hey sleepyhead, time to go".

Penny woke up. "Hey you…, are you finished? It was really fun watching you work. Thank you for bringing me along". Penny decided that right then, things really couldn't get any better. She made a mental note.

The three went back to their hotel and had a quiet night. It was a long day of travel and they just wanted to rest. Penny and Leonard got ready for bed. Penny looked in Leonard's eyes and smiled. Will you just hold me tonight?

Leonard could think of nothing better. He kissed her, snuggled and they drifted off to sleep.


	33. Chapter 33

**Still own nothing**

* * *

It was after 4:00 in the afternoon and Penny wanted to call Bernadette and ask a favor. Leonard and Sheldon had gone back to Hawking's offices to discuss what they had worked on and explain why they thought the data collection could end. Penny picked up the phone and called Pasadena.

* * *

Bernadette was getting the coffee on when the phone rang. She answered perky as ever,

"hello?...,

oh, high Penny, how are you guys?...

That's good, they did?...

How did that work out?...

No kidding. That's nice, sure I can,….

uh huh, well, I might need to ask,….

uh huh, ok I'll let you know if I can….

Sure, No problem. When are you coming home?...

That's great. See you then.

Howard was coming out of the bedroom, "who was that"?

Bernadette smiled, "that was Penny. They are coming home tomorrow. They need a ride from the airport".

"How long did it tale Sheldon to cheese off Hawking"? Howard asked.

Bernadette just giggled, "I don't know about cheese, but he fainted again".

* * *

Leonard came in from scheduling the shuttle to the airport. "We're all set, what do you want to do this evening"?

"What do you think Dr. Wackadoodle has planned"? Penny asked.

"We're in for a Sheldon free evening". Leonard smiled. "They are having a Dr. Who marathon on TV and he has already put his order in for room service".

Penny was ecstatic. "REALLY? Could we just go out on the town? Maybe go to a pub, or go shopping at Harrods, or just walk around Piccadilly? Please, please, please"?

Leonard thought Penny was so adorable when she got in one of these moods. "Sure, honey, whatever you want".

Penny practically leapt across the room, "you're the BEST"! She was hanging off him with her arms around his neck and placing little kisses all over his face. "You know... We could get ready quicker if we showered together"...

Leonard saw the sly look Penny had in her eye. "Yeah... Right... Quicker"... He then pressed his lips to hers and they went off to the bathroom.

* * *

They left the lobby of the hotel almost two hours later. The time seemed to go by quickly. Shower sex was one of Leonard's favorites. Penny knew this and made sure it was extra special. When they finished, they dried each other off which led to more intimate tender time. It seemed like they could hardly keep their hands off each other.

The evening was wonderful. They strolled around Piccadilly, had dinner at a quaint little pub where Penny trounced some locals in darts, and went shopping at Harrods where Penny purchased some very personal items that she would not show Leonard. They even took a ride on the Ferris-wheel. They missed taking a tour of the tower of London, but loved just walking around the streets of London.

Everything to Penny was feeling so right so easy, so comfortable. She was having a hard time thinking of why it had taken so long to get to this point in their relationship. They were walking hand in hand when she suddenly stopped, turned and stared into Leonard's eyes and said, "I love you Leonard Hofstadter".

Leonard just looked into her eyes a little surprised at this spontaneity and said "I love you too".

The whole ordeal of the expedition seemed to be wrapping up. Leonard had been asked on the expedition and had designed a protocol to use for data collection. Even in his absence, the team had gathered enough information that seemed to point in the direction everyone wanted to go. Leonard even got to meet with Dr. Hawking and was assured that he would get full credit as a team member. He wasn't sure if that was driven by a little guilt on their part, but that was fine with him.

In his time away from his group of friends, he had reflected on how much he had invested in their relationships. He had a new found appreciation for his band of friends. He had recently commented during their quest for tenure that "friendships are forever". But that statement now took on a new and deeper meaning for him.

He also got to reflect on his relationship with Penny. The ups and downs they had had over the years. He realized that before, even when they had their troubles and when they were broken up, He had always thought they would somehow get back together. This time, during these perils, he had thought that they would never see each other again. That was something that he could not bear. His love for her was so much deeper than he could have imagined. There was always a level of comfort. Now there was a much deeper need, a feeling of unity that was hard to imagine. He had heard of cases where healthy partners were said to die of broken hearts shortly after their spouse had died. He thought those storied were interesting but odd. He now knew that without a shadow of a doubt, he could not go on without Penny.

* * *

Penny was excited to be going back home to Pasadena. She wanted to be with her friends and get back to her regular routines. Penny was even looking forward to putting in her shifts at the Cheese Cake Factory. There were plays to act in, and fun times ahead with her friends. And Leonard….., she just smiled every time she thought of Leonard. Sure she was apprehensive earlier in the year, but that was all in the past now. She had told him she loved him. She had thought she had lost him forever. Now she had him back and couldn't be happier. Things were as good as they could get.

Leonard was looking forward to getting back to the University. There had already been meetings set up with the Hawking Team to assist in the data crunching. Dennis Kim had agreed to be part of the evaluation team and even Sheldon said he would like to continue working on the project.

* * *

The three friends took the shuttle from the hotel to Heathrow Airport and boarded their flight back home. Sheldon in the window seat, Penny in the middle and Leonard on the aisle. Sheldon turned to Penny and said, "Penny, did you know that there are quite a lot little known facts about London"…

Penny smiled, rested her head on Leonard's shoulder and went off to sleep.


	34. Chapter 34

**OK They're back home and things will be winding down. Still own nothing**

The flight landed at LAX international Airport and as the three friends came through to the baggage claim, they saw Bernadette, Amy, Howard and Raj. Bernadette and Amy raced up to hug Penny. Bernadette asked her, "How have you been feeling? Have you had any symptoms lately"?

Penny was smiling. "Not since we left Korea. But we didn't do anything to too stressful". She started to bite her lower lip, "Well…..come to think of it…. there were a couple of times I couldn't catch my breath"…

Bernadette poked her in the arm. "Those probably had nothing to do with the neurotoxin. We have synthesized a specific neurotoxin and our company physician would like to get you in for a checkup. He'll probably want to do a full health workup just to get a baseline. All the costs will be picked up by the company, all you have to do is show up".

Penny said, "That sounds fine, I guess I can make it. Did you get to find that stuff I asked about"?

Bernadette giggled. "Oh yeah, that's all taken care of. I can drop it off to you".

Penny whispered, That's OK, I'll let you know when I need it".

* * *

They all drove back to the apartment building and brought their bags up to the fourth floor. Penny was lagging behind a bit. She found the climb more strenuous than she had remembered. She hadn't felt this short of breath since the trail to the river. Sheldon entered 4A and Leonard was about to follow when Penny stopped him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Sweetie, I'm gonna take a shower and get a little rest if you don't mind".

Leonard smiled back and just said, "OK I'll see ya a little later then". They both went into their apartments and shut the doors.

Leonard decided that he would take a shower and freshen up, then go down to the liquor store and pick up a bottle of wine before he would go get Penny for dinner with Sheldon and the guys. Raj was going to pick up some pizza because that was something they just couldn't get while away. While Leonard was getting the wine, he passed a street vendor selling roses. He thought he would pick one up for Penny.

* * *

Leonard came back from getting the wine and stopped in 4A for a couple of wine glasses and then went over to 4B with the rose in his teeth. He knocked and there was no answer. He knocked again and still no answer. Leonard was getting a little nervous so he got his spare key and opened the door. The apartment was dark with light coming from the bedroom. Upon entering the bedroom, Leonard could hear Penny drying her hair. At least he knew why she didn't hear him knock.

Leonard sat down on the bed and put the rose on Penny's pillow. He noticed his Bat Signal sitting on the night stand. He put down the glasses and the wine next to it. He remembered back to when Bernadette told him how Penny reacted to the news of his disappearance. He was saddened to think he caused her so much pain. He walked over to her closet and noticed one of his hoodies and one of his jackets together on one hanger with his Green Lantern Costume next to them. Leonard didn't understand why they were here as he took the hangers off the rod and stood looking at them.

Penny finished her hair, opened the bathroom door and stepped into the bedroom. She was more than startled to see Leonard standing at her closet holding his stuff and she let out a little scream.

Leonard jumped a little and looked up at Penny. "Penny, what are these doing here"?

Penny sat down on the bed and started to cry. "Leonard, I'm sorry, I just needed a little piece of you".

Leonard quickly replaced the hangers and sat next to Penny putting his arms around her and pulling her close. "Penny, that's fine, do you want to talk about it"?

Penny pulled away a little and started to fiddle with her hands while looking down at the floor. "Leonard, I needed you so bad, I just wanted to be near you. I found your hoodie and jacket that smelled like your cologne and they made me feel safe. I found your Green Lantern costume and thought back to the New Year's Eve Party…. When I saw the look on your face…, that was the first time I realized you still had feelings for me. I hurt you so much that night, I'm so sorry…. I already knew I had feelings for you….., I was just so stupid…... Your Bat Signal….., that was what was missing from your room that made you realize Stephany was living with you….. I thought that if I had it maybe I could have just a little piece of you and it would live here with me"…...

"Leonard, just a few months ago, you wanted to move in with me... I basically threw you out... That night that I found out you were missing and probably gone was so horrible. I wanted to get just a tiny piece of you to be here with me... I'm so sorry".

Leonard took her hands. "Penny, it's Ok, you can keep all this stuff if you want, they don't mean anything to me. Only you do. You are all that matters to me. I'm back, we're back. What do you say we go across the hall and get some of that Pizza.

Penny smiled and gave him a hug and a kiss. "OK, let's go".

* * *

Penny and Leonard entered 4A just as Raj was coming up the stairs with the Pizza. Amy, Howard and Bernadette were already there so the whole bunch was together at home for the first time in months. Everyone was in their usual places. Penny was in a chair next to Leonard. Everyone was having their usual conversations when Penny suggested that they have a video game elimination tournament. All the guys were excited. Sheldon picked Halo.

They decided to play with tag teams where the couples would alternate if someone got killed. Penny immediately moved over and sat on Leonard's lap, a position that was immediately chided by Sheldon. "Penny, you will most certainly be hampered in your attempts to advance"...

Penny quickly blew Sheldon's head off... "Ha... Amy, It's your turn"...

The game progressed through the evening with Penny winning most of the battles. Leonard paired with Raj in order to get any playing time at all. Penny, however, wouldn't let Leonard off the chair. She was far too comfortable snuggling while causing all sorts of havoc. Raj just tossed Leonard his controller whenever he died.

There was plenty of wine and fun had by all. Finally, Bernadette yawned once too many times and Howard suggested that they call it a night. Everyone agreed and they picked up the apartment and everyone said their goodbyes.

Penny whispered in Leonard's ear while picking up some plates, "sleep at my place please". Leonard just smiled, got his robe and followed Penny to her apartment.

When they entered the apartment, Penny turned and put her arms around Leonard's neck and kissed him. Leonard's hands went instinctively to her hips. Leonard passionately returned the kiss. They stood there kissing for quite a while. When they broke apart, Penny turned her back to Leonard and held his hands as Leonard rested his chin on her shoulder and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Penny just said,"mmmm, this is nice" as she swayed just a little. "Will you just hold me tonight"?

Leonard whispered in her ear, "always, sweetheart, always".


	35. Chapter 35

**One Last time, I own Nothing. I've been waiting to post this too long. Enjoy.**

Leonard was still sleeping, his arm over Penny's waist. This is what Penny missed. This is what she never knew with another man. She cuddled closer. No other man she had been with would have just spent the night content with just tenderly caressing her. Make no mistake, she enjoyed sex as much or more than most. But now, she could be happy just feeling the warmth, the comfort, the safety she felt in these arms.

Penny started to get lost in her thoughts. What was it that she had been afraid of? Why did she have commitment issues? What more could there possibly be out there? Why what feels so right at this moment…., so easy today…., was so confusing or scary just six months ago?

She felt as if the world had slowed down. Nothing could upset this glowing feeling she had. She wanted nothing more than for her world to stay this way…. right here…. right now…. with Leonard.

Leonard stirred, it was still early. He had to get up to take Sheldon to work. They were working a half day in the afternoon, and Penny was working the lunch shift. That meant that Penny could stay in bed for a little while longer wrapped in her little Leonard cocoon, but she wanted today to be special. She turned to face him and started kissing him softly until his eyes fluttered open. "Hey you" she said.

"Morning sunshine", he responded. "Sleep well"?

Penny smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss "The best"…., Thank you".

Leonard chuckled, "Penny…, honey…, you don't have to say thank you every time we sleep together"…

Penny jabbed him in the ribs…She got out of bed put on her robe and went to make coffee.

Leonard came out of the bedroom in his robe to the smell of coffee and pancakes. "Wow", Leonard was surprised as he poured a cup of coffee and kissed Penny on the way by. "What's the occasion"?

Penny quickly kissed him back. "Just wanted today to be special now that we are back".

They ate and chatted about their day coming up. Penny had the lunch shift, and Leonard had a meeting scheduled with Dr. Gabelhouser and President Siebert. They finished and Leonard gave her a hug and kiss before making his way over to 4A to shower and get Sheldon to work.

* * *

Penny got to work and was in a great mood. The afternoon flew by. She didn't mess up a single order, she was happy, served her tables quickly, was very attentive, and got great tips. Just before she was punching out, she called Bernadette. "Bernadette, are you guys coming over tonight? It's Indian takeout and new comic book night at the comic book store".

Bernadette answered, "We wouldn't miss it for the world".

* * *

Everyone was in 4A waiting for Raj to show up with the Indian food and his order of Ckicken McNuggets. Raj had been bringing the food since Leonard left and he enjoyed talking to the girls that would take his orders.

Sheldon was especially excited because there were at least three Flash comic books he needed to catch up on.

The girls had taken to going with the guys since the Thor experience. Stewart's store was getting to be quite the happening place on new comic book night. Since the girls were going to Stewart's store, the word was out and that brought in more nerdy guys.

* * *

The guys entered the store and were greeted by Stewart, "Hey...you're back...great".

The girls came in and Penny smiled at him, "Hey Stewart, do you have the back issues for us"?

Stewart replied, "Um...yeah...they're in the back. I'll get them". He then went into the back of the store.

All the regulars were there tonight, Lonely Larry, Captain Sweat Pants, even Will Wheaton. The guys were looking through the comics when Stewart came out from the backroom and handed Penny a comic book. He whispered to Penny, "This is a mint copy and wasn't that easy to find, but when Bernadette told me what it was for, I did all I could".

Penny walked over to where Leonard was talking with Howard and Sheldon. Leonard didn't know what was happening right off. Penny held out the comic book to Leonard. She had a tear in her eye. Leonard took the comic book, looked at the cover and put his hand over his heart in surprise.

Penny spoke softly "Leonard, you are the kindest, most loving, most understanding man. You give of yourself to your friends and to me before thinking of yourself. I can't begin to tell you how much you mean to me and how much it means to be in a relationship with you. It's taken a long time for me to understand these things and I'm truly sorry for that. You have done nothing but try to make me happy from the first day we met. I know I have hurt you and it breaks my heart whenever I think about those times. I almost lost you twice, and I don't want to ever feel like that again. I love you so incredibly much"…...

Penny dropped to one knee…... Leonard Hofstadter….. Will you do me the honor of making me your wife? … Will you marry me"?

Leonard dropped to his knees in front of Penny. He pulled her into a hug and gave her a passionate kiss. When they broke off, he said through tears of his own, "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes".

The store erupted into cheers. Amy was standing next to Sheldon and asked, "What's with the comic book"?

Sheldon was smiling widely, "Kudos to Penny…., Leonard's favorite Super Hero is Superman. That issue is Superman #50…., Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite. That is the issue where Clark Kent proposes to Lois Lane".

Leonard and Penny got up and the guys all wanted to see the comic book. They had gathered in a small group and were oohing and ahhing over the issue. Leonard was talking to Raj who was crying. Raj said, "I have to compose myself, I'm so happy for you, I'll see you back at the apartment".

Penny was with Amy and Bernadette High Fiving in the corner. Bernadette just said, "Way ta GO"!

After a few more congratulations and pats on the back, the group decided to go back to the apartment for some wine and a proper toast to the newly engaged couple.

* * *

Leonard and Penny drove back in Leonard's car with Penny holding onto Leonard's right hand with her left. He was smiling ear to ear that 'Smile' he saved only for her. Penny was so proud of herself. She turned to him and just asked, "I love you so much. Were you surprised"?

Leonard turned to her. "Are you kidding? Couldn't you tell? I never expected….. But you did forget the flowers you know"….

Penny looked surprised. "What? What are you talking about"?

Leonard just smiled. "Relax, I'm not letting you off the hook on a technicality… But, when we agreed that you get to ask me.., I said I wanted "The Whole Nine Yards"…. Flowers…Ring…. You know…. Now, I'll admit, it was a HUGE surprise….. and the Superman #50 was a really great substitution for the ring….., I love it….. It's getting framed by the way…. And hung up for EVERYONE to see…. But, there were no flowers".

Penny couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Glad to hear I'm still on the hook. Because I'm not letting you go ever again".

* * *

They got to the apartment building and saw that Raj's car was already there and everybody was pulling in after them. When they got to the fourth floor, Penny said, "let me get the wine, I'll be right over". When she opened her door, there was a flickering of candle light. Confused, she turned on the lights to the apartment, and saw vases and bouquets of roses all around the room. On the coffee table, the counter in the kitchen, on the chairs, in the book shelves, and the dining table by the window.

Sitting by the roses on the coffee table was a small velvet box. She turned to face Leonard and saw him smiling, standing in front of all their friends. Raj was crying again and Howard was giving him a tissue.

Leonard stepped forward and took Penny's hand and led her to the couch to sit down. He quietly said to her, "go ahead…, Open it".

Penny picked up the velvet box…. and as she opened it…, saw the most beautiful engagement ring…, a special cut six sided Firerose Diamond with six smaller diamonds one at each point in a silver setting.

Penny threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. She pulled back, had Leonard put the ring on her left hand and she said, "OH MY GOD…, Leonard…, it's BEAUTIFUL"! I Love You SO much!

Leonard just looked in her eyes, "Penny, you are the most amazing woman. You are kind, funny, caring, and sweet. You have meant so much to me and to all of us. You give even if you don't know it. You have an inner drive and absolute goodness…... My world lights up every time you walk into the room. I can't explain it and I know it sounds so silly. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you….. The Whole Nine Yards…, I love you too".

**A/N There you have it. My first fan fic. It was fun and helped get through the summer. I have an Idea for a sequal with something in the works maybe.**


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